Palazzo del Te: Destruction
by Gabriel Tannin
Summary: After three years of hiding, Magdalene Markus is found by a past friend. Unwilling at first, she returns to the wizarding world in the heat of the first war against Voldemort. Sequel to Palazzo del Te.
1. Blood On Her Hands

Someone's fingers were running up and down her thigh softly. Magdalene let a soft sigh escape her lips, enjoying the feeling of the stranger's fingertips on her flesh. She smiled and rolled onto her back, looking up at the man who was lying next to her.

"Sirius," she whispered with a beaming smile.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he said softly as he leaned his head down and kissed her lips gently. Magdalene wrapped her arm around his shoulders as he lay over her. Her body was begging for him to touch her all over; to engulf her in his arms; and fill her with his love and desire. As if reading her mind, he moved his lips away from hers and kissed her chin, following the contour of her jaw line. He kissed her neck playfully causing her to moan delicately in his ear.

"I was worried about you," she said as he sat back, studying her face with his deep dark blue eyes. Magdalene couldn't help but stare at them. His midnight eyes made her think of the dark night sky. There was a certain pleasurable twinkle to his eyes that reminded her of stars. Like the night sky, Sirius was dark and mysterious holding more with in him then appeared at first glance.

"I was with James, just setting him and Lily up in their new flat," he said.

Magdalene nodded. "Of course."

She sat up on her elbows and stole a kiss from Sirius, tasting him in her mouth made her only want more. She smiled against his lips and moved her lip to his neck, kissing his flesh delicately. His body tensed slightly but Magdalene kept kissing him to help him relax.

"Relax Sirius," she whispered in his ear as she straddled him, switching their positions so she was on top of him. "It doesn't hurt."

"I didn't realize you'd be hungry," Sirius said softly as he lay back.

"I can't help it," Magdalene smiled holding his hands as her fangs slid forward in her mouth. "You always make me hungry."

Her eyes flashed grey as she bent her head to Sirius' neck. The smell of his blood filled her nostrils; the sound of his pulse filled her ears; her senses were heightened because of her hunger. She opened her mouth wide and made to sink her teeth into Sirius' neck—

"NO!"

Magdalene jumped in her bed, throwing her sheets away from her body. She had woken herself up from her own dream. Her body was shaking as she looked up at the pealing paint of the ceiling. She looked around the room and pinched herself, making sure she was back in her reality—alone in her own bedroom in her own house.

It had been three years, but Magdalene Markus was not used to her current situation. There wasn't really much way to adjust to her circumstances. Becoming a vampire hadn't changed much of her lifestyle, but now she could never turn off the hunger for blood. It consumed her. And she knew from past experiences that Sirius had wonderful tasting blood. That was probably why she was dreaming of him.

Before, being half vampire only meant that she had to have blood daily to avoid becoming an intolerable violent woman. Now, being a fully changed immortal vampire meant that she grew hungry for blood, had senses to hunt for blood, and fangs slid forward in her mouth when she was about to feed. In her eyes, she had lived the last three years as a cursed monster, burdened with the memories of her Grandmother Ariana Donovan, the most powerful vampire of the time—until Magdalene killed her.

Ariana was responsible for changing Magdalene, and shortly after the ritual, Magdalene killed Ariana in a violent rage. When Ariana changed Magdalene she made her into the most powerful vampire, passing on her knowledge, memories and power. Magdalene had been powerful before she was changed; she was half vampire and half witch. Her Mother, a natural born witch, had died when she was very young and her vampire Father Marius Markus never made her forget that she was a burden on him. Being turned to a full vampire only made Magdalene more powerful; she was had the physical powers of telekinesis, empathy, and conjuring. She also held deep wizarding magic from her Mother and her short lived magical education at Hogwarts.

The irony of it all was that Magdalene did not realize how powerful she was for sometime after Ariana's death. When she had killed her Grandmother, she had taken over all rights of three vampire clans in the country. She had destroyed one, her Father's clan—but the other two clans still remained with vengeance consuming them. It didn't take long for Magdalene to realize what she had done, and what power she now held. Melanie Thompson and Janson were the heads of the two clans, and both wanted Magdalene dead. About a month after her Grandmother's death, Magdalene took to hiding—she wasn't sure how she could defeat the vampires that kept coming after her.

Magdalene moaned and rubbed her head as her temples throbbed from the psychic connection that was forming between her and Sirius. That could be the other reason she was dreaming of Sirius. They shared a strong psychic and telekinetic connection because of a Covenant ritual that had been performed accidentally three years ago. The Covenant bond simply kept Sirius and Magdalene together—no matter where they went, how far away from each other they were, they would always sense the other. They would be called to the other if one was in danger; they could hear each other's thoughts and shared dreams. No doubt, Sirius just had the same dream as Magdalene.

Despite this bond, Sirius had yet to find Magdalene. After she left Hogwarts three years ago to return to her Father's home, Palazzo del Te, and then destroyed it, she never returned to Hogwarts. She felt like a monster and didn't wish to expose her wizarding friends to the horror that now consumed her. She was very much alone—she had abandoned her magical friends and her vampiric family. Of course she wanted to be with her wizarding friends, but she felt that just wasn't an option. She was being hunted by too many vampires—she wasn't safe.

As she made to get out of the bed, to get something to drink, a shocking sensation passed through her body. The feeling was nothing she had ever experienced before. It caused her vision to blur and go black and white. She blinked and rubbed her eyes as she saw a different scene in front of her. It was as if she was looking through someone else's eyes at that current moment. She didn't see her bedroom before her, but rather a lavished well decorated sitting room. She was on her knees in the room, sinking into the soft plush carpet. Across the room from her stood a tall man staring out a ten foot window at the rainy night. Magdalene made to move but someone's hands held her back, keeping her on her knees. Her hands were bond behind her back, so there was no way of escaping. When she looked over her shoulder she saw two men, obviously vampires because of the pale complexion and grey eyes, standing over her.

"It seems peculiar that my men should pick you up outside of my bar," said the man from the window. He turned to face her and had a crude smile on his face. "A wizard outside a vampire bar? You don't see that very often."

"Couldn't help myself," Magdalene said, but her voice was not her own. It was of a man.

"Tell me, Sirius Black," said the vampire standing before her. "Where I can find Magdalene Markus? I know very well who you are—if you're here then Magdalene must be too."

"Actually, I was hoping you could tell me where she was."

"If I knew where she was, I assure you'd she'd be dead as soon as I found her."

Magdalene sat up straight in her own bed and took a long gasping breath. She had never experienced a psychic connection like that before. Because of the connection she and Sirius shared, she had psychically connected to him. He was in great danger if he had been captured by a vampire and was being held by him. Magdalene stood up out of the bed immediately, looking for clothes to wear. She pulled on a pair of blue jeans with holes in the knees and a bra. She couldn't go into a situation that would probably end up in a fight braless. She pulled a sweatshirt over her head and found some chunky boots to wear. The boots went up to her shin, tying tight and hiding her blue jeans. Her chestnut wand was tucked safely in her right boot. She tossed her hair out of her face and without a second thought concentrated all of her energy and being on Sirius Black.

Magdalene felt a sharp pull on her entire body as the particles of her being separated, rushed through space frantically, and landed back together in the sitting room she had just witnessed in her vision. She caught her balance and took a deep breath.

"Well, that was fast," said the familiar voice of the vampire. She turned to him, smiling.

"Hi," she said holding out her hand. "Magdalene Markus. I'm assuming you are Janson. A pleasure."

Janson raised his eyebrows at her and did not take her hand. Magdalene shrugged and looked at Sirius, who was kneeling on the ground with his arms tied behind his back. Magdalene couldn't help but smile at him. He looked at her perplexed. His dark blue eyes were certainly happy to see her, but at the same time he was angry with her.

Magdalene thought he looked good considering; His eyes were just as intense as she remembered. His face was covered by a dark five o'clock shadow, his dark hair was long falling to his shoulders; he looked dirty and sexy—despite his jeans, tee-shirt, and leather jacket, Magdalene could make out the defined muscles underneath his clothes. She bit her bottom lip, still smiling at him.

"Maggie," he said with surprise. His lips formed a crooked smiled, which made Magdalene's stomach do a flip flop. "How'd you—"

"You're my Covenant," Magdalene said looking at Janson. "I have to protect you from other vampires."

Janson smirked. "Covenant? They still perform those rituals?"

"It was an accident," Magdalene said coolly. "I'd rather not have anyone attached to me. But I'm still obligated to save his ass if he gets into trouble. So, if you don't mind Janson, I'd appreciate it if you kept to the blood laws of our race and leave my property be."

"Property?" Sirius questioned. Magdalene turned to him, giving him a nasty look. Her grey eyes shined brightly, which only caused Sirius to glare back at her.

_Let me handle this_, she said to him telepathically. Thankfully, Sirius was a good enough player to keep a straight face when he heard her voice in his head.

_Alright, but we have a lot to talk about. _

_Agreed._

Magdalene turned back to Janson with a forced smile. "So, will you let him go?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Magdalene," said Janson. "Melanie and I have been looking for you for three years now."

"Everyone has, don't take it personally that you haven't been able to find me," Magdalene said softly. "What do you get for killing me first, Janson? Bragging rights? Or are you hoping to take my powers when you kill me?"

"You're not that powerful."

"Really?" Magdalene said with raised eyebrows. "Oh, how arrogant of me. I do apologize. I thought with every vampire coming after me these last three years that it meant I was kind of a big deal."

"We just want justice for Mother's death."

"Oh, Ariana," nodded Magdalene. "I suppose that makes sense. She just wanted justice for Marius' death; look what that got her."

"You're cockier then I remember, Magdalene," Janson said as he walked to her. He touched her cheek. "Do you remember meeting me? You were very young."

"I don't," Magdalene said honestly.

"I knew Elizabeth very well," Janson whispered in her ear. "If it weren't for me, Marius never would have met her."

Magdalene's eyes flashed at the mention of her Mother. She stepped away from Janson, but he wrapped his arm around her tightly, holding her close. Magdalene's hands pushed against Janson's chest, but he was a fully grown man with a muscular body and vampire strength.

"You look just like her," he said slowly. "Brings back old memories."

His free hand stroked her cheek. Magdalene grabbed his arm and threw it away from him. She proceeded to slap Janson across the face and shove him away from her body. Janson stepped back, laughing, not thrown by Magdalene's behavior for a moment.

"I'm not my Mother."

Janson laughed. "No, Marius and Ariana's blood festers in your veins taking away all the good your Mother's blood possessed. You're just as bad as me Magdalene."

Magdalene thought it was funny that Janson said this only because he had the reputation of being more merciful then Marius and Melanie combined. But he was still a vampire who had killed thousands in his lifetime. Magdalene had only killed three people, in self defense.

"I disagree," Magdalene said. "Stop stalling Janson, either kill me and my Covenant or let us go. It's not a difficult choice."

"Straight to the point," Janson smirked. "I like that in a woman."

Magdalene sighed with annoyance and turned on her heel. She pulled her wand from her boot and made a dagger appear in her hand as she walked towards Sirius. She flicked her wand effortlessly at the vampire on Sirius' right, sending him flying into the book case on the wall behind him. She did the same thing to the vampire on Sirius' other side and then dropped down to one knee, cutting his hands free of the ties that bound him.

Sirius stood up next to Magdalene as she pointed her wand at Janson.

"You know that won't stop me," he jeered at her.

Magdalene rolled her eyes. _Where's your wand? _She asked Sirius.

_His desk, over there in the corner. _

_Wait for me to distract him. _

Sirius pinched her elbow lightly to acknowledge her orders. Magdalene couldn't help but smile at his touch; it sent thrills through her body, like it had in her dream, just before she came here to save him.

With her free hand, she conjured a wooden stake behind her back. She clenched it in her hand and counted to three in her head. She threw the wooden stake at Janson who grabbed it out of the air. Magdalene rushed forward as he made to throw it back at her. When he released it, it flew straight for her chest. She ducked down and let the wooden stake sail across the room towards the oak doors. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sirius running for the desk in the far corner of the room.

Janson's eyes flashed grey, dilated and looked directly at Sirius. Magdalene jumped forward and tackled Janson around the middle, so he couldn't go after Sirius who had reached the desk. Janson grabbed Magdalene's throat and squeezed it tightly. She didn't hesitate, and thrust her bent elbow into his jugular. Janson chocked and coughed as he released her. Magdalene fell on top of his body—she had to admit he was very muscular. She could feel his ripped torso underneath her as she lay on him for a moment. She made to get up off of him, but he grabbed her, flipped her onto her back and grabbed her throat again.

A red beam shot across the room at Janson, hitting him in the shoulder. The stunning spell was ineffective though, it only caused Janson to turn his attention to Sirius. While he was distracted, Magdalene was able to lift her knee straight into his groin, which caused him to grunt in pain and roll off of her. Magdalene held out her hand and the stake that was lying on the floor at the front of the room slid across the floor to her open palm. She gripped it tightly and forced it down into Janson's chest. He screamed in agony and began to shake violently. Magdalene jumped back as Sirius came up a long side her. Janson's body burst into flames and burned until only ashes remained.

"Nice," Sirius said quietly.

"Come on," Magdalene said. "We have to get out of here. Can you Apparate? I can only teleport myself—"

"Hold tight," Sirius said wrapping his arms around her. Magdalene nodded and wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders. The most peculiar feeling took over her body as they Apparated. Magdalene felt like she was being squished through a small tube, pressure pushed down on her body from all sides and angles. Within moments her feet hit solid ground and her stomach turned upon the landing. She backed away from Sirius and turned, grabbing her knees as she bent over, about to be sick.

"You get used to it," Sirius said.

Magdalene stood up straight once her head stopped spinning and looked around the field they had appeared in. It was an empty country field, with long grass and wild flowers blooming. The summer night was refreshing to Magdalene; she was used to the cramped atmosphere of the city, where she had been hiding. She looked at Sirius and took in his full height and appearance, causing her heart to skip a beat. She threw her arms around him, happy to see someone she cared for from her past.

"It's so good to see you."

Sirius pulled away from her, looking cross, which caused Magdalene to frown.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" he questioned.

"Hiding," she muttered. "Sirius, a lot has happened."

"Yea, yea it has," he said. "How could you just leave us? First of all with out saying good bye—and then to top it all off you don't come back after you kill your Grandmother!"

"How'd you know about that?" Magdalene asked.

"When you didn't write back to Lily, Dumbledore went to check on you," said Sirius. "Maybe a week and a half after you left. He found Palazzo del Te empty. We managed to do some investigating and found an old servant of yours—Martha. She told us what happened."

Magdalene nodded her head slowly. "Is everyone well?"

"Yea," Sirius nodded. "Dumbledore has been keeping up with news from the vampire world, along with his other work on the Order—he sent me to find you. We found out two months ago that you were still in the country and Melanie and Janson were hunting for you."

"Wow," Magdalene said with surprise. "I didn't realize you'd try and find me."

Sirius reached out and touched Magdalene's cheek. "I knew you were still alive because of our connection. It was just a matter of finding you."

Magdalene smiled at Sirius. She wished they could pick up right where they had left off—kissing in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, whispering sweet nothings in the other's ear, and smiling uncontrollably. Sirius still sent girlish rushes through Magdalene's body. Despite her desires she knew that things had changed. First of all, she had made love with Demetrius the night she left Hogwarts, just after she had finished kissing Sirius. Secondly, Demetrius had died saving Magdalene's life. And finally, she was a full vampire now, hardly worthy of mortal love.

"Why did Dumbledore want you to find me?" she asked as she bit her bottom lip.

"Magdalene, we're your family," he said breathlessly. "We love you and were worried. We want you to come home. You know Lily's been stir crazy to find you, and the pregnancy hormones don't help. She would be out for blood if I didn't find you."

"Wait, wait. Lily is pregnant?" Magdalene asked looking at Sirius in surprise.

"Yea," Sirius nodded. "I told you, a lot has happened in the last three years."

Magdalene bit her bottom lip, feeling suddenly ashamed. Perhaps hiding wasn't the best choice. Maybe she should have gone back to Hogwarts. The decision had not been an easy one. She mulled over going back and hiding for days before she made the ultimate decision to stay hidden in London.

"Where are we?" Magdalene asked.

Sirius sighed and motioned behind him. Magdalene looked and saw a small house in the distant. The moonlight shined on it; and from far away Magdalene thought it looked like a small happy country cottage.

"Order of the Phoenix Headquarters," said Sirius. "Remus' humble home. There's a meeting tonight, everyone should be there."

"Oh," Magdalene frowned slightly. She wasn't expecting to see people so soon. She was hoping that she could return to her home and disappear again. As happy as she was to see Sirius, and even though she thought she may have made the wrong choice by hiding, she was going to stick to it. She was not going to put her friends at risk, no matter what they said.

"Hey," Sirius said looking at her as if he could read her mind. He knew that she was thinking about how she wanted to disappear again. "I didn't drag my ass down to London, to get caught by Janson, to have you come save my ass and go home. No, you're coming to see everyone."

Magdalene looked at him sharply. "Don't tell me what to do Sirius. The last person who tried that ended up dead."

Sirius frowned and gave her his own nasty look. "You know that threatening me means nothing. You owe it to everyone to come in there. At least let them know you're alive—"

"You can do that for me," said Magdalene. "You can tell them you found me—"

"_Lily will kill me_," Sirius interjected. "She'll murder me if I tell her I found you and didn't bring you back. Frankly Maggie, I fear her more then I fear you."

"That doesn't seem reasonable," said Magdalene shaking her head.

"She's pregnant, you're not."

"Sirius," Magdalene said his name seriously. He looked at her and saw the dark look on her face. He frowned.

"What's the matter? Do you need blood?" he asked. Before she could even answer he pulled a switch blade from his boot.

"No," she said shaking her head. She took the blade and closed it, then tucked it gently in his front jean pocket. "Not yet anyways."

"Then why the dark serious look?"

"Sirius, you should fear me," she whispered. "I'm not—I'm not half vampire anymore. My Grandmother," Magdalene hesitated and looked at the ground. Sirius touched her chin and lifted it up, looking her in the eye. "Ariana changed me. I'm a full vampire now."

Sirius nodded his head slowly and spoke, "I don't think that changes very much Magdalene. Not to your friends."

Magdalene frowned and bit her bottom lip, nodding her head.

"Come on," he said taking her hand and leading her through the field. "Everyone will be happy to see you."

"Really? Because I feel like it's bittersweet. You're happy to see me, but Sirius I can feel your frustration also."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I forgot how strong your empathetic powers are—"

"Stronger," Magdalene said. "I can feel Lily worrying from here."

Sirius laughed softly. "Maggie I'm frustrated because you're thinking about leaving us again."

"I'm sorry that my desires frustrate you," Magdalene said easily. Sirius stopped and pulled her against him. Magdalene's pulse jumped and heart skipped. He stroked her cheek and lowered his head close to hers. He was close enough to kiss her, but he didn't.

"You're lying through your teeth when you say your desires are to leave again," he said. _We share a connection. I feel your every emotion and thought._

Magdalene rolled her eyes. Sirius had become good at channeling her and tapping into the connection they shared.

"You sure you're not a vampire?" Magdalene asked pulling away from him and stalking off towards the house. Sirius smiled and followed after her.

"Does that mean you're staying?"

"No promises," Magdalene said. Sirius grabbed her again, stopping her in her tracks. This time his face came so close that their noses touched. His hand rested on her neck, barely touching her.

"Can I persuade you?"

"No," Magdalene said pushing him away. She smiled slightly and turned, walking away. Sirius smiled and shook his head, loving her playfulness. As they crossed the field, Magdalene wondered if she'd ever be able to go into hiding again. Of course, she missed her friends, and staying with them would be a dream—but that was exactly it. It would be a dream. She was living in a very dangerous reality and she had to think realistically. If hiding kept her friends and their families' safe, then that was what she was going to do. Magdalene didn't want anymore blood on her hands.


	2. Can't Hide From Your Friends

When they reached the house, Magdalene made to enter; reaching for the door knob, but Sirius caught her hand and stopped her. She looked at him with raised eyebrows. He released her hand and knocked.

"Why can't you just walk in?" Magdalene asked.

"Well, first off, it's rude," Sirius said. Magdalene rolled her eyes. "Secondly, they need to make sure it's us."

"Make sure it's us?"

Sirius nodded. Before Magdalene could ask him to elaborate the noise of someone leaning against the door could be heard. The door knob started to turn, but didn't complete.

"Who is it?" asked a voice from the other side of the door. It was a female voice, sounding a bit anxious.

"Sirius Black," Sirius said to the door.

"If you're Sirius you know who I am and what sex my child is," she said.

"Lily Evans-Potter," Sirius said. "Your child is an unborn boy."

Lily tore open the door and looked at Sirius with wide eyes. Her eyes opened even wider, if that was possible, when they fell on Magdalene.

"Magdalene Markus!" Lily stammered stepping forward. She slapped Magdalene across the face, shocking Magdalene. Sirius stepped back with a low whistle. Magdalene shook her head and frowned. She was not expecting that.

"Guess I deserved that," she said.

"Damn right you did," said Lily as she pulled Magdalene into a warm hug. "Where have you been?"

"Around," Magdalene said causally.

She pulled away and looked her best friend up and down, smiling. She had missed Lily a great deal. The skinny woman she remembered still remained, but with a large circle expansion on her belly. Magdalene's eyes beamed at her best friend's green eyes. It was like no time had passed at all between them. Lily was still the same clever, advice-giving witch that Magdalene remembered.

"You're pregnant," Magdalene said stating the obvious. Lily laughed and nodded.

"Yep, Harry is due in three months."

"Harry? You've already named the child?" Magdalene asked with raised eyebrows.

"Uh huh," Lily said beaming. Her hands rested on her belly, rubbing it caringly as if to comfort her unborn child.

"Why don't we move inside," suggested Sirius.

"Of course," Lily said turning and entering the house. Sirius allowed Magdalene to enter before him, smiling at her as she passed. Magdalene bowed her head to him, then he followed the two women into the kitchen of the small country house. Sirius shut the door tightly.

"Are we expecting anyone else?" he asked.

"No, you're the last."

Sirius nodded once and tapped his wand against the door, saying silent spells in his head to keep the door locked for the night. Magdalene looked around the small kitchen they had entered. There was a small fireplace across from the door they had just entered, a table with four chairs around it in near the corner, and then a counter with a sink and cabinets. Magdalene followed Lily into the house, staying silent. Once pass the kitchen, they entered a small living room with sofas and armchairs, the fireplace from the kitchen doubled in the living room. To the right of the room was a small staircase going up to a loft. From where Magdalene stood in between the kitchen and living room she could see a bed up in the loft. Next to the staircase leading up to where Remus' bedroom appeared to be, there was a staircase that went downwards. Lily was descending it.

"Everything okay?" Sirius asked quietly. Magdalene nodded and looked at him with a force smile. "Remus doesn't have a job. He does the best he can."

"Oh no," Magdalene said quickly. "It's not that at all. Are you kidding? This place is nicer then mine. This is cozy and colorful. My home is a slightly larger house with four empty rooms. I only use my bedroom and kitchen, and even then I have a bed, a nightstand, dresser, kitchen table and two chairs. No. This is beautiful."

Sirius smiled and nodded. "Never struck me as a simple woman, Maggie."

"Really?" Magdalene inquired. "You thought I was complicated?"

Sirius laughed lightly and went down the stairs into the basement of the house. Magdalene followed, anxiety building up in her body. She tensed her back and shoulders with anticipation of what people would say when they saw her. At the bottom of the stairs she entered a large basement that looked twice the size of the top floor of the house. She looked around in great surprise. There was a large table on one side of the room with at least twenty chairs around it. On the other side were two couches, a small fireplace that was directly under the other fireplace of the house, and a wall made up of bookshelves. The shelves were crowded with books and photographs. One of the shelves had a bottle of fire whiskey on it and some glasses, right next to a stack of other leather bound books. Magdalene couldn't help but smile—it was very Remus.

"Magdalene!" voices erupted once she entered the basement. She smiled and looked at the crowd of people who had been gathered around the table, not all sitting, waiting for the meeting to start. Meeting for what exactly, Magdalene still wasn't sure.

James, Remus and Peter immediately came over to Magdalene to hug and greet her.

"I missed you all so much," she said with a smile. "It's so good to see all of you."

"Welcome to my home," Remus said hugging her tightly in his arms. Magdalene thought he had gotten taller, or leaner. He seemed healthy considering being a werewolf. She reminded herself that the full moon had not occurred yet that month, and in a matter of a week, Remus would be very ill. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you."

"Come on," Sirius said. "I think Dumbledore wants the meeting to get started."

"Yes, thank you Sirius," said Albus Dumbledore who was sitting at the head of the long table. He looked the same as he had three years ago, with a long white beard and hair, half moon glasses on the tip of his very crooked nose and bright all knowing baby blue eyes. "Hello Miss Markus, it is good to see you well."

"You too, Head Master," she said as Remus pulled out a chair for her. She thanked him and took the seat. Remus sat down next to her and Lily on her other side. James, Peter and Sirius walked to the other side of the table where there were open seats. She watched as Sirius took off his leather coat, revealing his navy blue tee shirt and tattooed arms. Magdalene was surprised—in three years he managed to have two complete sleeve tattoos slapped on his arms. She smiled slightly, she liked them. They fit Sirius' dark, bad-ass, womanizing persona. She bit her bottom lip and looked around the rest of the room.

There were only ten or so more people in the room, they all looked pleasant. She recognized some from school like Frank Longbottom, and his long time girlfriend Alice. She assumed they were married now because Alice looked just as pregnant as Lily. There was a man sitting on the other side of the table who looked like a young version of Dumbledore, and then a man next to him with a magical blue eye rushing around in its socket.

"Thank you all for coming at such short notice," said Dumbledore. "I'd like to introduce Miss Magdalene Markus."

Magdalene waved her hand shyly. "As you all know," Dumbledore continued. "We have been looking for Magdalene for the last couple of months. I'm very pleased to see that Sirius managed to find her and that she agreed to join us this evening."

Magdalene smiled slightly. Dumbledore was a smart enough man to know that Magdalene didn't plan on staying longer then that night. By the next morning she would have relocated to another town, somewhere perhaps out of the country where no one could find her.

"Magdalene is the daughter of the notorious vampire Marius Markus," Dumbledore said. Magdalene wished he wouldn't tell her entire life story to the group at the table. "She destroyed her Father and Grandmother which resulted in the destruction of the vampiric slave trade in England, and has caused chaos to emerge in the vampire world for the last three years. Without knowing so, Magdalene has helped us against Voldemort. Our sources say that he planned to form an alliance with Ariana Donovan to help purify the wizarding race."

Magdalene was half surprised by this. She thought the only reason Ariana and Voldemort wouldn't align their forces was because of the hatred for the other race that burned deep within each of them. She was surprised that Voldemort, who seemed to do most of his work based on hatred, would over come that to work with someone else. But then again, if Voldemort and Ariana had the same common enemy they could align to defeat that enemy and then separate to battle each other. While she was mulling over these thoughts, Magdalene wondered if all it were really true. Because despite what Dumbledore was saying, and the commonalities between her Grandmother and Voldemort, she wasn't sure she believed it. Ariana Donovan hated Magdalene for being a half breed; she had hated Elizabeth for being a witch, and for a short time hated Marius for impregnating Elizabeth. Magdalene didn't think Ariana could over come that hatred.

"Forgive me," Magdalene said softly, interrupting Dumbledore.

"Miss Markus?"

"What sources led you to believe that Ariana and Voldemort were going to form an alliance?"

"Sources that will remain nameless because they are deep under cover in Melanie Thompson's clan," Dumbledore said soundly. Magdalene bit her bottom lip and played with the diamond necklace that hung around her neck.

"You have a spy in Melanie's clan?" she was surprised. She didn't even think that was possible. They had to be a vampire, turned against the clan, because Melanie would know if there was a magical mortal in her presence; and obviously if they knew from Melanie the plans for Ariana and Voldemort to join forces then they had to be high in her trusted ranks.

"Have for the last year and a half," said Dumbledore.

"When you went missing," James said softly from across the table. "We suggested finding an alley in the vampire world to try and find you. Our alley turned into a spy for the Order after we couldn't find you."

Magdalene nodded her head very slowly. "You're sure you can trust them?"

"I trust them," Dumbledore said firmly. Magdalene frowned and leaned back in her chair.

"I'm sorry to have interrupted."

"Quite alright, Miss Markus," said Dumbledore. He proceeded to explain other interest the Order of the Phoenix had. Magdalene was listening intently because she was very unaware of what had been happening in the wizarding world. She had sense that something was wrong, but never investigated to find out what exactly. It appeared that the wizarding world was in complete chaos. Only the few that sat at the table could really be trusted. Every day new people were over taken by blackmail or the Unforgivable Curses. Magdalene was puzzled by everything that was going on because she had never experienced a war before. She had read about the feud between werewolves and vampires, but that was ancient history—here in her reality things seemed more frightening. People were dying. Remus had leaned over at one point during Dumbledore's discussion to say that the Order was dropping like flies. There were ten Death Eaters to every one Order member. The odds were against them. "We have people scouting the debris of the fight looking for their bodies, but unfortunately we have not had any luck locating either of them yet…" Dumbledore's voice trailed off sadly.

From what Magdalene heard, she understood the Order of the Phoenix to be a secret organization that was fighting against Voldemort, and not affiliated with the Ministry of Magic. She didn't fully understand why they weren't working with the Ministry, but perhaps it was matters of trust. If there was one thing Magdalene got from the discussion that evening at the Order's table, it was that no one outside the room could be trusted. Some even seemed uneasy about trusting Magdalene, which she understood quite well.

When the meeting ended, Magdalene remained sitting at the table, very unsure of what she was going to do next. Yes, she would have loved to stay with her friends in the magical world but there were many reasons why she shouldn't. Mainly, she couldn't just flip a switch and fit into their life like she had before. She was different now, three years did a lot to a person, and she wasn't sure if she could just go back to being a witch. She also wasn't sure how ready she was to fight against Voldemort. She had her own war raging with the entire vampire population of England. The last thing she needed to do was get involved in somebody else's war.

"Magdalene?" questioned a voice.

Magdalene blinked and looked at Dumbledore, who was standing at his bottom of the staircase. They were alone in the basement, either everyone had left and Dumbledore returned to speak with her, or he had waited for everyone to leave. Magdalene stood up and turned to the old man, frowning slightly.

"Dumbledore," she said softly. "How are you?"

"I am well, considering," he sighed softly. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her very seriously. "How are you?"

"Very well," Magdalene said. "Considering."

Dumbledore beamed and nodded his head. "You had us all very worried for sometime."

"Sirius said you went to Palazzo del Te?"

"I told you I would," Dumbledore said motioning for Magdalene to sit down again. They both took the closest seats at the table, facing each other. "I hadn't heard from you or Demetrius, and when Miss Potter came to me with concerns, I agreed that something was not right. I saw the library, Magdalene. I saw the pile of ash…what happened?"

"I did not go back with the intent to kill her," Magdalene said breathlessly. Dumbledore's eyes smiled at her. He knew that much. She bit her bottom lip and looked down as she played with the diamond necklace around her neck. "She killed Demetrius."

Dumbledore nodded, not seeming surprised, but looking sad just the same.

"She meant to stab me, but he jumped in front of her. Took a stake right through the heart," Magdalene said sadly. She held the diamond up high enough for Dumbledore to see it. "I made his ashes into this."

"It honors him," Dumbledore whispered.

"Ariana bit me," Magdalene continued. "She…changed me…I killed her in my rage when I woke from the ritual sleep. If she had given me more blood when she woke me I probably wouldn't have killed her. The change…it makes you crazy. You're hungry for blood—any blood—but my rage consumed me. Demetrius was dead and _she had changed me_. As if his death didn't hurt enough she had to do that. Some days I wish she had killed me. I wish I could have saved him…"

"Magdalene," Dumbledore said taking her hand and squeezing it. "What Demetrius did, he did out of love. He would not want you to spend the rest of your life hiding, wishing Ariana Donovan had killed you when she had the chance."

Magdalene smiled slightly. He was right. Dumbledore was always right.

"Dumbledore," she sighed. "I can't stay here."

"I didn't expect you to," Dumbledore said. "But I hope you realize that your friends here love you also, and they would not tolerate you leaving because you thinking you're putting them in danger."

"I'm afraid they'll end up the same way Demetrius did," she sighed. "They don't understand that you can't fight vampires the same way you fight Death Eaters. Vampires are practically immune to magic. Just tonight, Sirius tried stunning Janson and it had no effect!"

"Then prepare them for that," he said wisely. "They will not forgive you for protecting them as if they were less then you."

This made Magdalene frown. She didn't mean to insinuate that her friends were less then her. She just was afraid they'd try and save her like Demetrius did and would end up dead. She didn't want that. She didn't want any of her friends to risk their lives for her. She was the one who was less then them. Deep in her heart she felt that she didn't deserve them because she was a vampire—a dangerous monster.

"I'll leave you with those thoughts," Dumbledore said standing up. Magdalene stood up after him and he smiled frankly at her. "And Magdalene, you should remember your connection to Sirius. You may think that it is insignificant, but Sirius is a much stronger man now because of it. He is very strong with his mental powers and has developed a keen understanding for how to use them, even on others." Magdalene nodded her head slowly, not saying anything. She was surprised that Sirius had mastered his mental powers, something that very few mortals could do. Perhaps because Sirius was a wizard, magic already flowing in his veins, it was easier for him to develop the physical vampiric power of telepathy. "Magdalene, if I may, how long have you lived in that abandoned house in the city?"

This question brought a deep frown to Magdalene's lips. Her eyes also flashed for a moment, until she remembered herself. "How did you know of that?"

Albus Dumbledore smiled. "Sirius found it seven months ago. He just wasn't sure how you knock on your door after all that time."

Magdalene raised her eyebrows with surprise and nodded her head, acknowledging Dumbledore's response. She didn't say anything though, and he seemed to accept that. He bid her goodnight and left the basement. Magdalene stood for a few moments looking around it. Perhaps she couldn't run away—not from Sirius anyways. She had been living in that house for eight months. He had found her within one.


	3. Same Sirius

"Hey," Sirius said jumping down the last couple of steps into the basement. Magdalene looked over her shoulder at him as she sat at the table. He was looking at her with dark worried eyes. "Why are you down here by yourself?"

He walked around the table and picked up his coat, pulling it on to cover his tattooed arms. Magdalene didn't say anything, only watched him. She was gripping the table tightly. He frowned as her grey eyes watched him move around the table.

"You haven't fed," he said coming to her. He pulled out the chair next to her, sitting down. He pulled the switch blade from his boot and went straight for his own wrist. Magdalene caught his wrist before he was able to cut himself. He raised his eyebrows at her. "You need blood."

"I can't take your blood, Sirius," she whispered.

"Don't be stupid," he said.

She looked at him confused. She remembered when they were at Hogwarts three years ago and he practically hated her because she was responsible for binding them together through blood laws. If she hadn't been a vampire, he wouldn't have had to save her life to begin with. Sirius had left Magdalene confused—one day he hated her, the next he was kissing her in the Entrance Hall.

"Sirius," she whispered his name softly with certain tenderness in the tone that only a lover would use. He looked at her with his stunning dark blue eyes, waiting patiently for her to continue. "Why did you kiss me that day I left for Palazzo del Te?"

He didn't answer right away. He put down the switch blade and sat back in his chair, still keeping his eyes on Magdalene. "I felt bad for everything that had happened. I suppose it was my way of apologizing for being a bastard the months before that."

"You always kiss girls when you're apologizing to them?" she asked.

Sirius smiled slightly. "Nope, just you, Maggie."

"Oh, okay," Magdalene said leaning back in her chair. She looked away from Sirius and closed her eyes tightly, gripping the arms of her chair tightly. Her knuckles turned white from squeezing the chair so hard. She was fighting her every desire to seduce Sirius into giving her his blood. She could smell him, he was so close, and his blood smelled delicious. She remembered how it tasted almost three years ago and she craved to taste it again. He was so close…she wanted it so bad…but she knew she couldn't take it. She couldn't ask that of Sirius. She felt she had asked too much of him already.

"Come on, Maggie," Sirius said picking up the switch blade. "You really need blood."

"No," she shook her head. "Not yours. I can't ask that of you. I need…I need to go to—"

She cut off and looked at the staircase, being very aware of someone else at the bottom of the steps. She had heard them with her acute senses and smelled their blood. It was sweet blood, that of a young woman—a witch. A vampire could always tell magical blood from Muggle blood. Magical blood has a sweeter ting to it; it was more alluring and strong then non-magical blood.

"Abigail," said Sirius surprised. He stood up and walked to her smoothly. He kissed her cheek in greeting, causing Magdalene's heart to burn with jealously. Her grey eyes glared at the young woman, Abigail, but she quickly turned away, remembering herself. It was still important that she keep her identity as a vampire secret. And honestly, what did she expected? Sirius to stay single and pine for her all this time? No, he was a man who desperately needed the attention and adoration of a woman. He was always with someone.

"Remus said you were down here," Abigail said quietly. "I didn't realize you were speaking to someone, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Don't be silly," Sirius said. "It's fine. Um," he paused and glanced back at Magdalene who had turned around in her seat so she couldn't be seen. "Let's go upstairs for a second. Maggie, I'll be right back."

"Alright," Magdalene said softly. She waited for Sirius and Abigail to head up the stairs before she stood up and followed. She crept up the stairs carefully, making sure to stay quiet so not to alert anyone upstairs that she was about to sneak out. When she reached the top of the stairs she saw that Sirius and Abigail were walking through the kitchen to head outside. Magdalene cursed under her breath, she wasn't going to be able to sneak out if Sirius was outside snogging his girlfriend.

Briskly, she walked through the kitchen to the door. She opened it slowly and peaked out, checking for Sirius and his girlfriend to be near by. She didn't see them, so she opened the door wider and exited the house, closing it softly behind her. As she walked away from the house, the front of it came into view. She could hear Abigail and Sirius talking quietly in the spring night. When she looked over her shoulder she saw them by the front gate of the house, holding hands and talking. Sirius bent his head down and kissed her, which made Magdalene cringe with envy. She felt as if a dagger had just stabbed her heart with betrayal. As she watched the couple, Sirius stood up straight suddenly, pulling away from Abigail. He looked over his shoulder as Magdalene ducked behind a near by tree. Of course he would pick up that emotion with their connection. Magdalene held her breath for a few moments, then with the blink of an eye she teleported off of Remus' property.

She found herself standing in front of a large iron gate when she appeared. She leaned against the gate and looked up the long gravel path to her past home. Palazzo del Te stood tall in the distant night. Magdalene frowned slightly and pushed against the gate, not surprised to find it locked. She easily began to climb over the black iron gate; being careful at the top to jump down so not to catch her clothes on the sharp bars of the gate. She landed on the ground like a cat, on her combat boot clad feet. She stood up straight and fixed her top which had fallen crooked on her shoulder. The gravel shifted under her feet as she walked up the drive towards the deserted mansion.

When she reached the mansion, she looked around a little uneasy. Part of her was sure that there were loner vampires hiding in the depths of the mansion because it was dark and deserted. The basement was also made up of giant freezer that had refrigerated cabinets of blood lining the walls. It was the perfect place for homeless or on the run vampires to hide. Magdalene fell under both of those categories.

The large oak doors creaked open as Magdalene entered. She stood in the entrance hall, taking in the dark scene of her childhood home. The paint and elegant wall paper had began to peel off the wall, there was dirt and leaves riddling the floor, and broken furniture and glass lying on the floor. As Magdalene walked through the entrance hall into the dinning room, she saw that most of the chairs had been smashed. Obviously other vampires had been in the mansion because when she had left three years ago the only thing broken in the dinning room was the large bay window and a vase. She walked through the destroyed dinning room and into the kitchen, which was just as destroyed, and straight to the back corner. She opened a door and descended a long staircase that led to another silver steal door. She pulled the leaver on the door and opened it up to a freezer. Magdalene was surprised to see that it was still frozen over; despite being abandoned the mansion still had electric power. She knew right where she was going as she approached the back wall of refrigerator cabinets. She opened one labeled AB positive and pulled out two bags of blood.

The scent alone was enough to drive her mad. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she smelled the delicious scent of mortal blood. She brought the bag to her mouth, as her fangs slid forward and sunk her teeth into it. The blood rushed from the bag into her mouth, ice cold and refreshing. Magdalene immediately felt strength overflowing her system. She hadn't realized how weak she was. As she drank the blood, memories of a boy running down front porch steps into a grassy field filled her mind. She felt the warmth of a mother's love overwhelmed her. She pulled away from the bag, overwhelmed by the loving emotions that were so unfamiliar to her. Blood dripped down her chin, and she wiped it up smoothly then licked her fingers.

She dropped the near empty blood bag on the floor and walked out of the freezer carrying the extra blood bag with her. She'd have to drink it before the day was out because it needed to be kept cold. She left the kitchen and when she entered the dinning room she immediately teleported. There was no point in walking through the destructed house.

"Did you really think I wouldn't come after you?"

Magdalene screamed and threw the blood bag up in the air in shock. When it hit the ground it exploded, covering the floor in rich blood.

"Sirius!" Magdalene yelled at the man sitting on her bed. "What the bloody hell _are you doing in my house?_"

"I saw you leaving," he said. "I didn't appreciate you sneaking out without saying good bye, again."

Magdalene frowned and snapped her fingers as she glared at Sirius. The bloody mess on the floor disappeared once she snapped her fingers.

"I can see that you've fed," he said softly.

"Why didn't you come to me," Magdalene said harshly. "You found me seven months ago and you didn't come to me."

"I knew you didn't want to be found," Sirius said wisely. He stood up from the bed and came to Magdalene slowly. "Why'd you sneak out?"

"I had to feed."

"I told you I'd be right back."

"I wasn't going to take your blood," she said sharply as she walked to her messy closet. She pulled off her sweatshirt and threw it on the floor of the small closet.

"You've had it before."

Magdalene turned to Sirius and gave him an ugly glare as she stood in her blue jeans and black bra. Her pale torso was exposed, revealing the scars of her Father's abuse. "I know that," she said. "Do you know how addicting blood is, Sirius?" She walked to him slowly. "I dream of your blood because now that I'm a full vampire I crave it everyday. I smell it." She stood right in front of him and touched his neck softly. "I want it."

Sirius couldn't help himself and gently touched her bare hips, tracing the flesh just above the waistline of her blue jeans. Magdalene couldn't help herself either because of her hunger—that small blood bag at Palazzo del Te didn't help her very much and since she had exploded the other bag on the bedroom floor, she didn't have many options. The hunger for blood in a vampire also brought on a sexual hunger. Her lips were so close to Sirius' neck and she could smell the blood running through his veins.

"Sirius," she whispered his name very softly. He bent his head to her ear and kissed her gently.

"Yes," he whispered in reply. Magdalene pressed her lips and tongue against his neck, feeling his pulse under her tongue. He brushed her hair gently and waited for her to bite into his neck, but she didn't. Her hands found their way to his chest and rested there as Sirius began to kiss and nibble on her neck.

"I've dreamt of having your blood," she whispered very gently. "But I can't take it. I've taken so much from you."

She pulled away slowly and stood in front of him. Sirius' kept his hands on her though.

"Maggie," he said softly. "You need it; I can see it in your eyes."

Magdalene frowned as he stroked her cheek.

"Don't be stubborn," he whispered coming closer to her. Magdalene took a step away from him and ran into the bed, which knocked the back of her knees and made her fall back on the bed. Sirius stood in front of her and touched her cheek, then slowly tucked her hair behind her ear. "You need it to survive."

He pulled off his jacket and tee shirt, throwing them on the floor. His torso was exposed to Magdalene, who couldn't take her eyes off of it. He was muscular with a rippling six pack and tight defined chest. The sleeve tattoo of his left arm spread onto his shoulder and stopped over his peck. Magdalene couldn't look away from his stunning body. She bit her bottom lip as fantasies of his body on hers danced in her head. Sirius smiled at her, seeming to know what she was thinking, which made Magdalene blush slightly.

He sat down on the bed next to her and pulled his long hair over his shoulder. Magdalene hesitated before she leaned into Sirius' exposed neck. She straddled him as he sat on the bed and held his neck in her hands. She kissed him gently, letting him relax under her. She could feel his emotions as he fought internally about touching her soft exposed skin. Magdalene took his hands and held them in hers, making up his mind for him. He moaned slightly as she continued to kiss him, which was perfect. She knew he was relaxed now—her fangs slid forward and softly sunk into his neck, puncturing his flesh. He took a soft gasp and Magdalene squeezed his hands, as if promising him that it would be okay.

His blood flooded her mouth; slipping down her throat and making her feel alive. She drank the thick warm liquid slowly and was careful not to take too much. When she pulled away Sirius was in a light sleep. She laid him back in the bed and licked the blood off his neck. When she sat up on him, straddling him still, he had already woken. She smiled at him.

"Thank you," she whispered. Her eyes turned back to shining green and fangs slid back into place in her mouth. She climbed off of him and laid down next to him in the bed. He rolled onto his side and looked at her, smiling.

"My pleasure."

Magdalene stared at her pealing ceiling, trying not to look at the handsome man that lay half naked in her bed.

"Don't you feel like this is wrong?" she asked playing with the necklace around her neck.

"Why?" he asked. She could feel his desire to touch her and it consumed her. She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, taking a slow breath. The desire also burned in her. She had been alone for three years, morning Demetrius but dreaming of Sirius.

"Abigail," was all she replied.

Sirius frowned and rolled onto his back, looking at the ceiling like Magdalene had.

"We're not doing anything," he said. "I just let you have some of my blood."

"You don't think it was intimate?" Magdalene asked turning her head to look at Sirius. He turned his head to look at her with a dark serious look in his eyes.

"You're not that intimate with all of the people you feed off of?" It was a naïve question, which she and Sirius both knew the answer too.

Magdalene frowned. "You're the first person I've feed off of. I usually break into blood banks or hospitals. I haven't been able to take the blood of an innocent person…I just can't bring myself to do it."

Sirius smiled. "So, you're not a full vampire after all."

Magdalene turned away from him, growing annoyed. Sirius laughed lightly and rolled his body to spoon with Magdalene. He wrapped his arm around her and took her hand, squeezing it easily. He buried his head in her curly long hair and sighed slightly, loving the scent of her shampoo.

"We share a certain connection, Maggie," he whispered. "I can't help but want you…"

"We share a psychic and empathic connection," Magdalene responded. "How do you know that what you're feeling is what _you're_ feeling? How do you know it's not what I'm feeling?"

"Does it matter who's feelings they are if we're both feeling them?"

"Yes," Magdalene said pulling away and rolling over. "It does matter because you have a girlfriend."

"Abigail and I may be sleeping together but that doesn't mean she's my girlfriend."

Magdalene rolled her eyes. "You haven't changed at all, have you?" She got up out of the bed and took her pants off; throwing them viciously into the closet that was overflowing with thrown clothes. Sirius sat up on the bed with a sigh and watched her as she pulled on a pair of shorts and took off her bra, facing away from him. He bit his bottom lip as his breath caught. Magdalene pulled a long sleeve tee shirt on and turned, glaring harshly with her green eyes.

"Get out!" she hissed pointing at the door. Sirius didn't move at first, so she repeated herself, this time yelling. "Get out!"

Sirius sighed and stood up, pulled on his tee shirt and then picked up his jacket. He began to walk for the bedroom door, and stumbled slightly, catching himself in the door frame of the room. Magdalene frowned, feeling guilty. He was weak from her taking his blood. How could she turn him away when he had given her his blood?

"Don't let this stop you from coming back," he said with a sigh as he pulled on his jacket. "Don't disappoint everyone else because of me."

Magdalene frowned and nodded. "Fine, now will you please leave?"

Sirius stood up straight and gave Magdalene a nasty look.

"See you," he said and Apparated on the spot. Magdalene rolled her eyes.

_Probably not, _she thought.


	4. Brief Happiness

Clasping the small piece of paper in her hand, she opened the front gate to a small red townhouse. As she mounted the steps to the porch she took out her wand and lit the piece of paper on fire. As it turned to ash in her hand the wind caught it, taking it far away from her grasp. She watched as the ash floated in the spring wind, there was no point in stopping it. It was just ash.

On either side of the cobblestone walk way was a small stretch of grass from the gate to the large rose bushes in front of the townhouse. Magdalene mounted the steps to the porch and rang the bell when she arrived. The door was black, with white trim. The windows had black shutters on either side, and when one looked into the windows they saw romantic looking curtains hanging over them. Magdalene smiled slightly as she heard footsteps on the other side of the door.

"Hello, who is it?" asked a female voice.

"Magdalene Markus."

"Who did you have a sex dream about the last day I saw you?" asked Lily Potter on the other side of the door. Magdalene flushed slightly and bit her bottom lip.

"Demetrius," she responded. She stood back as she heard locks being undone on the door. Lily, wearing jeans and a purple sweater, opened the door and stepped onto the porch, looking up and down the quiet city street.

"I wasn't expecting you," she said as her hands rested on her pregnant belly. Her green eyes had a tint of surprise in them, which made Magdalene regret not writing before she came to call.

"Dumbledore gave me the address," Magdalene said. "May I come in?"

"Of course," Lily said opening the door wider as she reentered the house. Magdalene followed and closed the door behind her. Lily offered to take Magdalene's coat, and hung it on the coat rack near the door. She then turned and walked down a short hallway that led to the back of the house where a kitchen and sitting room were.

"I didn't think we were going to see you again after last night," Lily said honestly as she entered the kitchen.

"Why?" Magdalene asked taking a seat at the kitchen table. Lily brought over a pot of tea she had been making and poured Magdalene and herself a cup. She then sat down across from her best friend and answered her question.

"Well, Sirius told us you two fought and he thought you wouldn't come back because of it."

"We fought because he came onto me," Magdalene said with some annoyance. "The jerk hasn't changed in the three years since I've seen him."

"You expected him to?" Lily asked and then took a sip of her tea. She put her cup back down and spooned some sugar into the cup. She swirled it before taking another sip, this time appearing satisfied with the taste.

"Well, I don't know," Magdalene said breathless. "Yes, yes I did."

"I hate to break it to you, Maggie," Lily said looking Magdalene in the eye. "He has changed to some degree. He still manages his stress by having sex with women. And you stress him out _a lot_."

"What does that mean?" Magdalene asked with raised eyebrows. She had been stirring her tea with her spoon, yet to take a drink of it.

"Well, he's been looking for you for three years," Lily said with a slight groan. She held her stomach and closed her eyes in pain for a moment. Magdalene sat up straight and looked at Lily with concern.

"What's the matter?"

"Harry's just kicking," Lily said rubbing her stomach. "Anyways…Sirius has been looking for you because he shares that connection with you. He was determined to find you and bring you home—I think he loves you, Maggie."

"Whoa, whoa," Magdalene said holding up her hand, motioning for Lily to stop speaking. "What?"

"That's how he's changed. He may be sleep with any woman that crosses his path, but his heart is only set on you. I mean, he's been looking for you _for three years_," Lily said with a shrug. "He hasn't done anything else. He lost his job at the Ministry because he didn't focus on his work. Dumbledore made sure that he stayed busy for the Order, but that doesn't make money…Maggie, he may be with other women, but that's only physical. You know Sirius is a very affectionate, physical man. When it comes to love, Sirius is a one woman kind of man…and I'm sure you're his one woman. Your blood connection is probably why he's falling for you. You two share something that even James and I don't have, and we're married! You have a strong connection to him and Sirius has never felt something so strong. He loves you Maggie, I'm sure of it."

Magdalene felt sick to her stomach. Despite the desire that burned deep within her, she didn't want Sirius to love her. She would never admit that she wanted him or even loved him out loud though. She liked it better when she thought he was a womanizing bastard who occasionally got on her good side with his charm and affection. If Lily was right, and Sirius did love Magdalene, that meant she would have to face him about it eventually. She'd have to turn him down and break his heart.

"Maggie?" Lily said her name with some concern. Magdalene blinked and looked at her best friend with a sigh.

"He can't love me," she whispered.

Lily frowned. "Why? Because then it means you were wrong about him all these years? Or is it because you've been in love with him all these years too and you are too proud to admit it?"

"I haven't been in love with him," Magdalene said confidently. She was a very good liar. She touched her necklace and held up the diamond for Lily to see. "This is Demetrius' remains. His ashes; squished so tightly they became a dirty little diamond. Do you think I would carry this around if I was in love with Sirius all this time?"

"I think you _loved_ Demetrius and you _love_ Sirius," Lily said. "You loved Demetrius for a long time and he betrayed you, but that doesn't change the fact that you loved him. He was a good man and he did take care of you, just too late. You will always love Demetrius, Magdalene and there is nothing wrong with that."

Magdalene smiled slightly. She missed her best friend. Lily always helped her to see things from all perspective, making issues clearer so that decisions could be well thought out and made quickly.

Lily continued, "I think that you love Sirius, but you have a lot of Daddy issues, Magdalene. In your eyes you've never been treated right by a man so you have issues with them. Your Father abused and hated you, hardly allowing you to put faith in him or any man. You learned very on that you had to rely on yourself because even when you Father was abusing you Demetrius, who claimed to love you, never stopped it and he eventually left. By the time you met Sirius you had stonewalled all men. You didn't trust him, which I don't really blame you, but the point is because of that you're not willing to give him a chance now even though you do have strong feelings for him."

Magdalene could only stare at Lily. Where was all of this coming from?

"We are complex creatures with complex emotions," Lily said. "We never feel one thing for someone. Our lives are full of ambivalence."

"Have you been studying Muggle psychology?" Magdalene asked.

Lily laughed. "Well my parents are Muggles, Maggie," she said as she stood up from the table. She picked up the empty tea cups and took them to the sink to be washed. She leaned against the counter and groaned again. Magdalene looked at her concerned. "Don't worry," Lily said. "It's still just Harry."

"Is he supposed to kick that much?" Magdalene asked naively. She knew nothing about having children. Lily laughed at her as she came back to the table.

"He can kick however much and whenever he wants," Lily said. "Even if it means in the middle of the night—which Mommy does not like," she added the last part as she tilted her head down, speaking to her belly.

Magdalene smiled and bit her lip, nodding her head. She had no desire to have children. She didn't want to bring a child into this world mostly because they were messy, annoying, loud, and bratty; but most of all she didn't want to have a kid when she was a blood sucking monster. She didn't want her child to grow up the way she had.

"No, she threw me out like I was a dog," a man's voice echoed from the front of the house. Magdalene recognized it instantly as Sirius' voice. Lily hadn't mentioned that Sirius was over and upstairs with James.

Lily frowned slightly and turned to Magdalene who raised her hand to stop Lily from speaking. She stood up slowly, leaving her hands on the chair as she looked out at hallway that led to the front of the house.

"Like she hadn't been leading me on while standing in front of me in her jeans and sexy black bra, the teasing—"

Sirius Black stopped dead in his tracks in the small hallway. James was just behind him, it appeared they had been upstairs talking. Magdalene raised her eyebrows at Sirius, as she stood in the kitchen and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Go ahead," she said. "Finish it."

Sirius frowned deeply and rubbed his hand through his hair as he looked at the ground. Magdalene rolled her eyes and marched down the hall, shoving by Sirius and James. She opened the front door and slammed it harshly behind her. She was fuming as she passed by the gate, closing it quickly, and then walked down the street.

"Magdalene!" shouted a voice behind her. It was Sirius, coming after her. She didn't stop. She didn't want to look at Sirius, let alone talk to him. Her mind was racing with anger. "Maggie!" He caught her arm and pulled her around into his chest. Magdalene glared up at him with dark grey eyes. Sirius frowned and released her for a moment.

"You can't just run off like that," he said.

"Oh," she said. "You want to talk about this now? You couldn't finish your sentence in there—or is it because I'm fully clothes? Now you don't know what to say because I'm not showing you my bra?"

"Would you shut up," he said. "I was just expressing my frustration about what happened last night to my best friend. If you can look me in the eye and say that you didn't call me a bastard or womanizing pig as you talked to Lily then I'll be out of line, but otherwise you'd just be a hypocrite."

"Actually I called you a jerk," she said still glaring.

"Well that seem rather mild considering the alternatives," Sirius said with a soft smile. Magdalene continued to glare at him. He wasn't going to charm his way out of this conversation. "I'm sorry, Magdalene. I'm sorry."

"I don't think that makes it better, Sirius."

"Then tell me how to make it better," he said with annoyance. He was looking at her with aggravation. She could see in his eyes that he was frustrated with her. He was wondering why she had to make things so complicated for the both of them. Why couldn't she just be happy to see him and let them be together? Why was it always a fight with her?

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I don't know how you can make it better without changing yourself, and I don't even know if I want you to make it better."

"Why?" he said grabbing her arms and pulling her against him. Magdalene could feel his hard muscular torso pressing against her body and it made her want him a little. She remembered what his naked tattooed upper body looked like and she craved to see it again. "You don't think I would change for you? I've spent years looking for you Magdalene. I care about you—"

"You said you cared about me while at Hogwarts," Magdalene interrupted pushing her hands against Sirius' chest. "And yet you never tried and dated me, you dated other girls. And now, you say you've cared about me for years…you've been looking for me for years…all the while dating other women!"

"Fine," he said releasing Magdalene. "Fine. I won't date other women."

"What?" Magdalene looked at him confused.

"I won't date other women anymore. I will stay single until you think I've proven myself to you."

Magdalene stared at Sirius bewildered. What was he saying? That he wanted to be with her and he'd stop seeing other women while he waited for her to come around? What was that going to prove?

_That I want to be with you and no one else, _he said into her head. Magdalene frowned and bit her bottom lip, shaking her head.

"That doesn't make it better, Sirius," she sighed. "If you wanted to be with only me, you wouldn't have been with Abigail."

"What was I suppose to do, Maggie?" Sirius looked at her with angry eyes. "Pine for you, wait all my life for you to show up again? I didn't even know if you were coming back, if you _wanted _to come back—"

"Of course I wanted to come back!" Magdalene shouted.

Sirius stood up straight and shook his head. He turned on his heel and walked away from Magdalene, giving up. Magdalene was shocked to see him do it. She bit her bottom lip, suddenly unsure of what to do. To her surprise, he stopped abruptly, turned around and walked back to her. He grabbed her waist and kissed her passionately on the lips, lighting a fire in her heart and center. She couldn't help but kiss him in return, playing with his tongue and tasting his mouth on hers. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and let him hold onto her, engulfing her small framed body with his large one. He pulled away slightly and looked at her eyes, they had returned to their natural green color. His arms were still wrapped around her.

"I'm going to say something," he whispered. "And you don't get to say anything in return because you left, you left with out any words." Magdalene didn't say anything, even though she wanted to. "I know you're complicated. We're both complicated. And you've been hurt—but I'm pretty sure that I love you because despite being with other women, I always wake up the next morning thinking of you."

Magdalene made to speak, but Sirius put his fingers to her lips. "Don't speak." She frowned as he pulled his fingers away. "I'm pretty sure that you love me too. I want to work this out, but I can't if you're not willing to also."

He released her body and she bit her bottom lip, looking at him with sad eyes. She didn't want him to let her go. She enjoyed the feelings of his strong body pressed against hers. His hands remained on her hips, slowly tracing against the exposed flesh just above the waistband of her pants.

_Can I speak now?_ She asked. Sirius smiled at her and said, "Yes."

"I'm scared," she whispered. "The man who was supposed to love me the most destroyed me, and the only man I ever loved left me, came back and then died. I'm scared that you're going to do the same thing."

Sirius touched Magdalene's cheeks. "That's a risk we both have to take."

Magdalene frowned and stood on her toes to kiss Sirius again. He smiled at her and nuzzled his nose against hers, then kissed her deeply. She held onto his arms and beamed at his dark blue eyes.

"Is there anything else?" he joked.

"Yes," she said seriously. "Sometimes you can just be a real ass."

Sirius laughed a bark like laugh that warmed Magdalene's heart. He stroked her hair behind her ear and left his hand on her neck.

"Alright I'll work on that," he said, then kissed her slowly. "Do you want to go back inside now?"

"Maybe," Magdalene whispered. "But what are we going to tell them?"

"That we made up and kissed," Sirius said taking Magdalene's hand to lead her back into the Potter's house. She frowned slightly. She didn't want to admit out loud that she had thought of Sirius the last three years; or that she was too proud to admit that she probably loved him; but she did like kissing him in the neighborhood street.

_It was rather romantic,_ Sirius said. Magdalene punched his shoulder as he laughed stepping up the porch into the house.

"Oh," said Lily surprised as Sirius and I entered the kitchen. She was moving around the table in the nook of the house, setting it for dinner. "I wasn't expecting you two to come back."

James stepped into the nook and smiled at his best friend.

"So you guys dating now?" he asked.

"No," Magdalene said before Sirius could answer. Sirius looked at her with raised eyebrows. He didn't say anything, but it was obvious that he wasn't expecting her answer. She frowned deeply; did Sirius think they were dating now?

_No, _Sirius said. _I don't think we're dating. _

_Alright, good. _

Lily and James were looking at Magdalene and Sirius oddly because they were looking at each other but not saying anything. Lily pinched Magdalene's arm and she jumped.

"What?"

"You two were just staring at each other," Lily shrugged. "Like you were staring into each other's souls."

"Maybe we were," Sirius said sitting down at the table. James brought a casserole dish to the table and set it down on a hot pad. He sat down as Lily made to pull her chair out. She stopped and held her stomach for a moment, taking a deep breath. James immediately put down his serving spoon and made to get out of his chair.

"No, no," Lily said. "It's fine."

"Are you sure?" Magdalene asked. "Because you've been doing that a lot today."

"It's fine," she insisted. "He's just kicking. He's going to be a handful of trouble."

"Well with me as his Father," James smile squeezing Lily's hand. "And Sirius as his godfather, of course he is."

Lily smiled and nodded her head as she sat down. "Hopefully Maggie and I can make him into a responsible young man then."

"You don't want me to raise your child," Magdalene said softly as she served food onto her plate. "I'd be a horrible mother."

"Why do you say that?" Sirius asked.

"First of all," Magdalene said softly. "I'm a blood sucking monster—"

"That doesn't mean you're a bad Mother," Lily said as she began to eat the casserole off her plate.

"Well it either means that my child will be born half immortal like I was," Magdalene said. "Or they'll grow up being ashamed of me."

"No," Sirius said. "You are nothing to be ashamed of."

"Is it so bad being half immortal?" James asked.

Magdalene frowned slightly. "No, I suppose not."

"Sure, you had a bad childhood, Maggie," James said. "But you're not your Father. You've learned from your experiences and I'm sure because of it you'll be able to raise a child properly."

"Thank you, James," Magdalene said with a smile. "At least somebody is confident."

Magdalene forked some casserole into her mouth so she wouldn't have to speak anymore. She didn't want children, and she couldn't bring herself to believe that she would be a proper mother because of what she was. Vampires weren't known for their good parenting skills; and despite the witch that was inside of Magdalene, her vampirism ruled her world. She couldn't bring a child into that life. She didn't want to.

The rest of the evening was pleasant. Magdalene was happy that Sirius had caught her and convinced her to stay with him. She hadn't realized how much she missed her friends until she actually spent time with them. Sitting around a table, playing cards, drinking fire whiskey, and laughing made Magdalene's heart sore. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed that much, let alone spent time in the company of others. It seemed that Sirius finding her was the best thing that had happened in a long time. She felt as if she had never left…It didn't matter that three years had passed and she was a full fledge vampire; or the magical world was falling to pieces because of the hostile take over by Lord Voldemort. The only thing that mattered was that moment of brief happiness. Magdalene held it close to her heart because it was the last bit she'd have for years to come. As she sat at the Potter's kitchen table she had no idea the pain she was about to endure in the coming year.


	5. Constantine

Sunlight was shining through the gap in the curtains hanging over the bedroom window causing a thin line of light to be cast on the bed. It fell on Sirius Black's chest, right over his heart, where a tattoo of the words "I will never break my covenant with you. Judges 2:1" were inked. Magdalene frowned slightly with curious eyes as she lay on her side looking at Sirius as he slept. She didn't understand why he had words of Muggle religion tattooed on his chest. She understood what they meant; and it frightened her. But even if she and Sirius didn't fall in love they would always be together.

She got out of the bed slowly, being very careful to be silent and steady as she moved. She was hoping to sneak out of Sirius' flat without being noticed. She hated the awkward conversation that always seemed to follow their intimate nights; only because she felt as if she should be committing herself to Sirius even though she had no interest in doing so. She liked him. She enjoyed the time they spent together. And the sex was amazing. But Magdalene didn't want to be tied down to anyone, especially when she was being hunted by Melanie Thompson's clan, the last of the Donovan clans in the country.

There were a few bitter moments once Magdalene was dressed that she debated waking Sirius to say good bye. She was fully clothed, shoes and all, standing at the foot of the bed with her arms crossed over her chest and biting her lip when Sirius spoke.

"You don't have to say good bye if you don't want to, Maggie," he said in a low tone.

Magdalene's heart fell. She couldn't believe how good Sirius had gotten at his telepathic abilities. She dropped her hands to her sides in fist and tapped her thighs nervously with them.

"I just didn't want to wake you."

"You don't have to lie," he said sitting up with a broad grin on his face. "Maggie, if you just want to come here, hang out and have sex, occasionally spend the night, that's fine. I'm more then happy with that."

"How did your girlfriend feel when you told her you were dumping her just so you could have sex with another woman?"

"She wasn't very happy," Sirius shrugged. "But you're better in bed then her, and not as needy. So, I like you more."

"Thanks," Magdalene smirked.

"Go," Sirius said nodding his head to the do. "I know you're dying to get out. But kiss me before you leave."

Magdalene couldn't help but smile as she walked around to the side of the bed and leaned over to kiss Sirius. He touched her cheek and kissed her deeply with some tongue, making her moan with desire for a moment as his lips lingered next to hers.

"You know how to keep me coming back for more," Magdalene said pulling away slowly. "I'll see you later."

"Be good," Sirius advised as Magdalene made her way for the bedroom door. He laid back down in the bed, pulling the blankets up to his chin, as she walked out of the room. Magdalene liked that he didn't ask where she was going or what she was up to. He just let her be. Maybe she and Sirius would fall in love. The way things were going so far, she couldn't help but fall a little.

All happy feelings of desire, love and delightfulness left Magdalene when she arrived to her destination. She was quite a sight to be seen standing in the entrance hall of Hogwarts in her tight black leather pants, black cotton blouse and black trench coat. She was looking around carefully, taking in the surrounding walls and memories that were suddenly overwhelming her system. She ran her hands over her arms as she looked around at the students milling in the hall. She carefully stroked her hair over her shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to breathe because she was picking up on the students various emotions and thoughts. She had yet to experience such an overwhelming amount of feelings and thoughts since she was turned three years ago. As she rubbed her temples she assumed that it was because she had been in hiding. She had not been around so many people, let alone immature young students. Everything the students were thinking was being said out loud in low murmurs.

"—who is that—?"

"—do you think a professor knows she's here—?"

"—why is she holding her head—?"

"—is she lost—?"

"—she's so pale—"

"Miss Markus," said a voice. I turned on my heel and looked up at Albus Dumbledore. He was wearing maroon robes today with silver rimmed glasses sitting on the edge of his nose. His hands were folded in front of him and his mild expression showed some surprise at my present. His crystal blue eyes did not reveal anything, even to my telepathic mind. "I was not expecting to see you so soon."

"I wished to speak to you, Dumbledore," she said as her eyes wandered to stare at the students who were looking at her like a mad woman. Magdalene frowned and folded her arms over her chest in an uncomfortable manner. She had a hard time looking at Dumbledore as the students' thoughts pulled her attention, causing her to stare at them with intimidating green eyes.

"Magdalene," Dumbledore whispered stepping in close and touching her arm. "Have you fed today?" His voice was so low in her ear she could barely hear him. She stepped away and nodded. Of course she had fed today. She wasn't going to come to Hogwarts, a castle full of young innocent sweet blood, hungry. She didn't wish to tempt herself into losing control. In the three years she had been a full vampire, Sirius' blood was the only person's she had taken and she had never lost control. She didn't want to turn into a vicious monster that could damage lives and would have to relish in the consequences.

"It's not that," she replied. "They're looking at me as if they know…"

"You're an adult they have never seen before," Dumbledore shrugged hooking her arm on his and stepping towards the grand staircase. "Very rarely do we have visitors to Hogwarts. They are just curious about you."

"I have never seen so many judgmental eyes."

"They live in a judgmental time."

"That doesn't justify anything," she retorted as they began to travel up the stairs. Students were still moving around, looking at Magdalene with curious eyes, as they made their way to class.

"What did you wish to see me about, Magdalene?" Dumbledore asked with calm eyes behind his glasses.

"Perhaps we should wait until we are in your office," Magdalene said looking around at the moving students.

"Very well," he nodded. "Tell me how you are now that you're out of hiding."

"I'm still in hiding, Dumbledore. I'm just not hiding from everyone now."

"Sirius persuaded you?"

Magdalene laughed lightly. "You could say that." Her eyes sparkled at the secret she felt she was holding inside of her. She had just crawled out of Sirius' bed without waking him to come see Dumbledore. Yes, Sirius had persuaded Magdalene out of hiding, but in her head she was thinking of the dirty ways he persuaded her—not the emotional or logical reasons of persuasion he used.

"Magdalene," Dumbledore smiled as he gave her an all knowing look, causing her to frown and fold her hands behind her back out of embarrassment. "I'm happy you're here. There is someone I would like you to meet in my office. He's here for a meeting, but I'm sure we can set that back for now…"

Magdalene looked up at Dumbledore with raised eyebrows as he said the password to the statue guarding the entrance to his office. He bowed and motioned for Magdalene to step onto the rotating staircase first.

"It wouldn't by chance be the spy that you have inside Melanie's clan, would it?" Magdalene joked. "That is why I came out here."

"Really?" Dumbledore said with a faint smile. "Why did you wish to inquire about our vampiric spy?"

"I want to speak to them, Dumbledore," Magdalene said with stern eyes and tone. "If they're inside Melanie's clan then they know the uproar that has erupted because I've killed Janson and they'll know what she's planning to do about me."

"Well," Dumbledore said opening his office door. "Then I suppose it's a good thing you're here. Magdalene, I'd like you to meet Constantine Octavius, the Order's spy inside Melanie Thompson's clan."

Magdalene stopped dead in the entrance of Dumbledore's office. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and seeing. Before her stood one of the most famous vampires of her time; her Father hadn't been worthy enough to know anyone of the Octavius line personally. How was it possible that Constantine Octavius had taken up a position in the Thompson clan, a clan beneath him?

"Constantine," Dumbledore said shaking his hand. "This is Miss Magdalene Markus, as I'm sure you know already."

"A pleasure," smiled the stunning man before her. Magdalene had to hold her breath for a moment while she took in his appearance. He was a tall man, at least six foot four, with a strong muscular frame and build. His face was square with a five o'clock shadow covering his cheeks and sharp jaw line. His facial hair matched the dark full head of hair he had sweeping in front of his forest green eyes. He was staring her down, taking in as much of her as she could, but she didn't mind; Constantine's eyes were the most stunning she had seen since Demetrius'. The thought of Demetrius brought Magdalene back to reality. She frowned deeply and extended her hand to Constantine. "Your Grandmother was a personal friend."

"I find that surprising," Magdalene replied as she shook Constantine's hand. "Ariana didn't have friends so much as servants."

"I think it's fair to say we both knew the woman differently," Constantine said with a bow of the head. He turned away from Magdalene and looked at Dumbledore. "I'm sorry for calling so early. I know you don't like me coming during the day."

"Its fine Constantine," Dumbledore said moving around his desk as he waved his wand. A tray of cookies appeared with a steaming pot of tea and cups. Magdalene raised her eyebrows in surprise as Constantine picked up the tea pot and poured two cups of tea. He paused and looked at Magdalene, with an all knowing smile that made her uneasy, and spoke.

"Would you care for some tea?"

"No," she said after a moment's hesitation. "No. I'm fine, thank you."

"As you wish," he replied and replaced the teapot to its spot on the tea tray. Magdalene was surprised that Constantine would pour his own tea only because traditionally vampires didn't know how to do such things. Considering Constantine's position in a powerful clan in the country he was considered vampiric royalty. Magdalene was sure that he had lived with numerous servants who did his bidding without him saying anything.

She looked him over again to see if there was something she was missing? Perhaps the mark of a feeder, a weak vampire who is bond to the vampire that changed them; or maybe he was a half-vampire. Before Magdalene could give the idea more thought a searing pain shot through her temple. She sighed and cocked her head down, grabbing onto her temples with her hands. Images flashed in front of her eyes, like broken film strips. She knew instantly as she watched that they were Ariana's memories.

When Magdalene had been changed by Ariana she inherited Ariana's knowledge and memories. Ariana's blood flowed in Magdalene's veins and provided her with an abundance of knowledge of the vampiric culture and history in England. Magdalene collected the facts as the images danced in front of her eyes. She saw mostly everything in a blur, but when she stood up straight, the pain in her temples throbbing still, she knew everything about Constantine that Ariana had known.

He was the third biological son of Octavia, who was Ariana's vampiric sister. They had both been changed by the same vampire in the late nineteenth century. The two vampiric sisters competed for the attention of the vampire who changed them, and Octavia seemed to always win it. Ariana left the clan and started one of her own. Octavia's clan grew quickly and resulted in her having three biological sons with three different men. Constantine was the youngest; he was different then his brothers, though Ariana was not entirely sure why. She thought that bringing Constantine to her clan would result in the unraveling of the Octavian clan, than Ariana Donovan's clans (the Thompson, Janson, and Markus clans) would be the strongest in England. She approached Constantine and was able to develop a strong relationship with him. He secretly joined Melanie Thompson's clan under Ariana's supervision, despite the objections of Melanie, Janson and Marius. To this day, Octavia did not know that her youngest son had betrayed her and was aligned with another clan.

Magdalene didn't know there was such a feud between the vampire clans of the country—she thought by now she would have picked up on that. Perhaps Melanie and Janson's interest in hunting her down were not only based on revenge, but also in unifying the clan. With Magdalene being the most powerful of the remaining Donovan clans, but in hiding, the clan would never be able to unite and over come the Octavian clan.

When she blinked and looked at Constantine, she wondered if he knew he was being used by Ariana. He was just a means to an end. How could Dumbledore trust such a man? Constantine had betrayed his own blood by joining the Thompson clan and now he was betraying the Thompson clan by joining the Order. Magdalene's skin tingled with distrust as her silver eyes gazed on the handsome vampire before her.

"Magdalene?" Dumbledore stood up concerned. "What happened?"

"I'm fine," Magdalene replied as she rubbed her head. Her body was tense and hungry suddenly. The two men approached her, which caused Magdalene to step back, immediately defensive.

"You have never channeled Ariana's memories before, have you?" Constantine questioned.

"No," Magdalene replied as she took a slow breath. Her fangs slid forward in her mouth uncontrollably.

"Albus," Constantine said quickly. "Perhaps we should meet later. I'm afraid that Magdalene needs to feed. Channeling memories often drains us, especially if the vampire is a virgin to the process."

Dumbledore was looking at Magdalene with concern still, not fear, despite that Constantine suggested she need blood. "Of course."

"Since I was the reason Magdalene came here, I'm sure I can answer some of her questions," Constantine continued. "If that is alright with you, Miss Markus."

"Yes," she said looking straight up at Constantine. Her eyes were silver; and along with her thirst for blood there was a horrible sexual itch tingling in her system. Magdalene bit her lip as her eyes wandered over Constantine's handsome figure. She held her breath and turned away, heading for the door of the office; she needed to get to the freezers in Palazzo del Te. She was losing control and she needed blood desperately.

"Miss Markus," called Constantine when she was in the corridor outside of Dumbledore's office. She paused and looked at him as he approached. "Perhaps we should exit the castle another way."

"What?" she looked at him confused. He leaned forward and took her arms in his hands, causing Magdalene's skin to light on fire. She made to shove him away. "What the hell are you doing?"

But Constantine was fast and strong. He pulled her into a tight embrace and teleported before she could fight free of him. She was shocked when they appeared on the wet, mucky grounds of Palazzo del Te. She shoved Constantine away and turned on her heel sharply to stalk across the marsh to the abandoned mansion. She could hear Constantine following; he remained a good distance away, which made her think he was a smart man.

This time, she did not walk through the abandoned mansion with caution. Rather, she stomped through the house like it was her own and made her way into the basement freezer. When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs she was surprised to see the freezer door open. Her heart sank into her stomach and she let out a low groan. Pushing the door open slowly, she saw that every freezer cabinet door was open. Empty blood bags riddled the floor. The ice of the freezer walls was stained with blood. The sight enraged Magdalene. Whoever had the nerve to steal the remainder of her blood supply had been a sloppy fool. She let out a loud growl and kicked a barrel of frozen meat over. The barrel broke open allowing the dead cow carcass to spill onto the floor. Magdalene turned and ruthlessly marched out of the freezer, up the stairs and into the kitchen.

"I have to go to a blood bank," she said to Constantine. She made to shove by him as he stood in her path, blocking the exit of the kitchen. "Move!" She said pushing his chest.

"You can have my blood," he whispered barely moving from his stance.

"What?" she stammered pulling away from him. She looked at him confused, with ruthless silver eyes, like he was stupid. "I can't take your blood you're a vampire—"

"Only half," he replied, still speaking in a low tone, as he pulled up a chair. Magdalene looked at him puzzled and with distrusting eyes.

He took a seat as he reached out and took Magdalene's hand. He guided her to him and pulled her body onto his lap so she was straddling him. "You're not strong enough to catch me," he responded to the roll of her eyes. He undid the tie around his neck and unbuttoned his collar, moving his shirt out of the way of Magdalene's mouth.

"I can't," she whispered despite the desire that was burning through her entire body. Part of her hesitation was the mistrust she had for Constantine. If she took his blood, and he was really a full vampire, his blood could be poison to her system. She could die in his arms in the kitchen of her childhood. Wouldn't that be poetic, she thought. I'd die in the kitchen that my Father tried to murder me in.

"I could drain it into a glass for you, if you'd like," Constantine said sarcastically.

Despite her better judgment, Magdalene leaned forward so she was closer to Constantine's neck. His scent was intoxicating. He smelled of delicious sweet magical blood with a twist of immortality. Magdalene cursed herself for not trusting her senses better—she would be able to smell if Constantine was a full vampire. He would smell of iron and death, especially if he was hungry; he smelled wonderful though. Her senses tingled as she delicately licked his neck.

"How did you know to bring me here," she whispered in his ear as she kissed it playfully.

"Your mind is an open book, Magdalene," he said. "Take just a little, till we can get you home. You're shaking badly."

Magdalene hadn't realized how weak she was until that moment. She had been so furious over the stolen blood in the freezer that she had forgotten her hunger. But as Constantine sat under her, his arms wrapped around her, every erotic and hungry desire had returned to her. Her body was indeed shaking because she was so weak. She trembled as she pressed against him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and hands cradling his head. She kissed his neck gently again and looked up at his eyes, which were closed, waiting for her to bite into him.

Magdalene closed her own eyes and carefully sank her fangs into Constantine's gentle flesh. His rich warm blood flooded her mouth; the taste of sweet iron and rich magic washed against her tongue. She felt Constantine's hold on her relax for a moment, then his hands squeezed her thighs and began to massage them. She opened her eyes and pulled away slowly, swallowing his blood down her throat easily. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and sat back on Constantine's lap. He stared at her with those deep forest green eyes as if nothing had happened.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Yes," Magdalene said with a nod. She could only stare at him for a few moments and he let her.

"Ariana didn't know," he said answering the silent question she was asking. "Only Octavia knows that I'm half vampire."

"And wizard?" Magdalene finished for him.

"Yes," he nodded. "Like you once were."

"I didn't think anyone else…" Magdalene stood up off of him and fixed her shirt. Constantine remained in his chair for a moment. He closed his eyes to regain his composure.

"You are the only other half breed I know of," he replied his eyes still closed.

"Not anymore," Magdalene smiled sadly. "I don't know which is worse, being the hated half breed, unwanted in both worlds I was from, or being a full vampire…a monster."

"You were a monster either way," Constantine said standing up. He fixed his collar and tie before walking by Magdalene. "At least now you're accepted for your difference."

"I was accepted as a half breed."

"Only by a few."

"Why are you betraying Melanie?" Magdalene asked to change the subject. She was growing annoyed with Constantine. How could he question how or where she was accepted when he was the same as her?

"Because her interests do not suit those of my Mother."

"So, there are many things that Ariana did not know about you," Magdalene said carefully. Constantine smirked and nodded.

"And what are Octavia's interests regarding Voldemort and the Order of the Phoenix?"

"She is not interested in either of them," Constantine shrugged. "She just wants to use the Order to finish her work and then she will gladly step back from all involvement with witches and wizards."

"And what about you?"

"I'm more vampire then I ever was wizard," he smiled. "While you embraced your mortal half, I have always embraced my vampiric half. I suppose I didn't have much choice. Mother practically beat the magic out of me."

"Abuse doesn't change what you are," Magdalene said as she pulled back her sleeves to reveal her scar covered arms. Her Father had abused her when she was young, cutting designs in her skin like tattoos without the ink, because he hated her for being a witch; just like he hated her Mother for being one.

"They cover your entire body?" Constantine's forest green eyes wandered over Magdalene as if he were imagining her naked. She didn't move as he took a step closer to her and extended his hand, tracing the curves of vines with thorns that were cut on her forearm.

"Nearly every inch," she whispered in reply.

"That's why you killed him?"

"Didn't have much of a choice. It was either kill or be killed. It was only a matter of time before he lost it and murdered me."

Constantine nodded his head before peering into her eyes with an intense stare. Magdalene didn't look away, though. She was used to vampires attempting to stare her down. Despite Constantine's stare, there was a gentle look in his eyes that made Magdalene curious about him. "Is that all of your questions?"

Magdalene hesitated for a moment only because her mind had gone blank. She was distracted by Constantine's forest green eyes and the desire-filled twinkle he was giving her. She blinked and shook her head, quickly realizing all the dirty thoughts running through her mind were probably result of the staring contest they were having. Constantine was obviously a very charming vampire. He overpowered women with a sexually tense stare, making them succumb to his every desire.

"How does Dumbledore trust you?"

"I saved his life once," Constantine shrugged. "When we were both much younger..."

Magdalene nodded her head slowly as she placed her hands on her hips. "That was vague," she smirked. She still wasn't sure if she could trust him and his vague reply only made her question him more.

"Do you have fangs?" she asked despite her better judgment.

"No," Constantine shook his head. "I carry a switch blade with me."

"How often do you feed?"

"These are very personal questions, Maggie. I thought you would ask me if Melanie wants to kill you by now."

Magdalene frowned when he called her by the shortened name. As she peered up at him her green eyes turned to a shining silver color. The changed sparked a smile on Constantine's lips. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Seems like I've struck a nerve," he said as he smirked. "Is it the name or the fact that I suggested you're wanted dead?"

"Maggie is a very personal nickname. People have wanted me dead my entire life, that's nothing new."

"Only the man who screws you calls you Maggie?" Constantine asked pulling Magdalene tightly against him. He completely ignored the comment about people wanting Magdalene dead. His muscular arms held her small hour glass figure strongly. She felt his six-pack abs press against her toned stomach, and her breast pressed against his chest. She placed her hands delicately on his shoulders and ran her fingers to the back of his neck.

"Yes," Magdalene whispered softly with a seductive tone of voice. She was gleaming up at Constantine; her silver eyes changing back to twinkling green. "Do you always have that effect on women?"

"Mortal ones don't change their eye color," he replied still smiling. "But the effect is essentially the same."

Magdalene smiled slightly. "So, this guy screwing you..?" Constantine continued. "Is it serious?"

Magdalene started to pull away from his strong embrace. He let her slip out of his arm and frowned.

"I think we should go," Magdalene replied. "Obviously vampires have been scavenging this disgusting place."

"Ariana brought me here once," he whispered looking around the kitchen. "I found the place quite charming."

"You met your Father?"

Constantine hesitated for a moment as the pair walked out of the kitchen. His hands were buried in the pockets of his jeans as they walked. Magdalene kicked a chair out of the way in the dining room.

"Maggie," she looked up at him with a nasty glare when he called her that. "Sorry, Magdalene," he corrected himself. "You were about four when I was here. You were a stunning bright child."

"I don't remember much of my childhood," Magdalene said darkly as she faced forward and made her way into the entrance hall. "I've blocked it from my memory."

"You shouldn't block things like that," Constantine said as he opened the front door for Magdalene. "It happened, Maggie."

"Lots of things happened," she said turning to him. "You met me when I was a bright happy child, well I don't remember that. If I could, I would still be holding onto those moments. I was unloved, unwanted, abused and loaned to other vampires when they were hungry. The little girl that you met doesn't exist anymore."

"I never said I wanted her too," he shrugged. "What happened to you was terrible, and you deserved better then that, but that doesn't change the fact that it happened, Maggie. You are based on what happened to you; and the woman I see before me is stunning—"

"Shut up," Magdalene said turning on her heel. "I'm not a dumb bimbo you can trick into screwing you."

"Really? I thought I was pretty close in the kitchen," Constantine said pointing over his shoulder as he smirked and followed Magdalene out of the house. She marched across the deserted grounds of her property with her temper raging. She looked over her shoulder to see Constantine following her slowly. She frowned deeply and teleported mid-step. She appeared in the front of Sirius' house and proceeded to march through the hall to his kitchen.

"Sirius?" she called looking around for him. He was standing at the sink washing the dishes they had used for dinner last night.

"Hey," he said turning to smile at her. "How did your day go?"

"Oh, it was full of surprises," she said pulling off her coat. "I met the Order's spy. I can't believe that bastard—did you know?"

"No," Sirius said shaking his head. "And there is probably a reason for that. Dumbledore hasn't told any of us who the Order's spy is for a reason. If he let you know he trusts you immensely."

"Well I didn't doubt that," Magdalene shrugged. "I just can't believe who it is—"

"Don't tell me," Sirius said raising his hands. Magdalene frowned, but nodded as she stepped toward him.

"Alright," she touched his hips and slowly wrapped her arms around him as she looked up at his broad grin. He reached up and stroked her cheek gently. "Want to have sex?"

Sirius laughed. "Is that what our relationship is going to be? Just food and sex?"

"Isn't that what most of your relationships with women are based on?"

Sirius laughed and bent over, scooping Magdalene up in his arms. He swung her over his shoulder as she cried out with a giggle and carried her down the hall towards his bedroom. He threw her carefully on the bed with a grunt and pulled off his black tee shirt to reveal his tattooed bodied.

"You were perfectly okay with just having sex this morning," Magdalene said as she pulled off her boots.

"Maggie," Sirius said kicking the door shut. She looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "If I wasn't okay with us just having sex I wouldn't be taking off my pants right now."

Sirius undid his pants and let them drop to his ankles. Magdalene smirked and laid back on the beds, undoing her own pants. Sirius smiled at her and laid down on top of her small frame. He kissed her deeply—and as soon as he did Magdalene forgot about everything that had happened that day. The only thing that mattered was that Sirius was helping her get rid of her sexual frustration, even if it was created by Constantine Octavius.


	6. Bloody Burning Fight

"Are you sure it's normal to be contracting like that?" Magdalene asked as she laid a blanket down over Lily who was lying on the couch. Lily rolled her green eyes as she tucked the blanket around her round belly.

"The Healer just said it was normal."

"It just doesn't seem right to me," she shrugged as she took a seat in a leather armchair in the corner of the sitting room in the Potter's flat.

"My body is preparing to give birth," Lily retorted with some annoyance. Magdalene cringed and looked at Lily with apologetic eyes. She didn't mean to push her friend's buttons. "It's okay for it to start warming up for the labor."

"But four weeks before you're due?" Magdalene questioned with concern. "I'm just expressing some concern for you and your child…"

"I know," Lily sighed as she lay back on the couch. She ran her hand over her forehead and back threw her hair. "I'm sorry for snapping…Harry is making me crazy. I just want to have him and get it over with."

"Right, so maybe you're mentally prepared, your body is physically trying to expel the child and Harry is ready to come out—that's why you're having contractions."

"I'm not dilating, like the Healer said. My body is not trying to expel Harry. If it was, I'd be dilating and my water would have broken."

Magdalene rolled her eyes and looked away from Lily to the front window. She could see the semi-busy London street outside busy with Muggles minding their business and wondered how they could so easily be living their lives. How could they not be aware that there was an entire magical world, full of various magical creatures, raging war right next to them? She frowned as she rested her chin on her hand.

"Did you receive a letter from Dumbledore today?" Lily asked, drawing Magdalene back to the sitting room. Magdalene turned her head to look at Lily as she lay on the couch, trying to relax, and nodded her head in response.

"I'm going," Magdalene said before Lily could ask if she was going to the Order meeting that evening.

"I don't think it's going to be a very large meeting," Lily said as she adjusted her position on the couch. She groaned as she rolled onto her side and rubbed her stomach while resting her head on the arm of the couch. Magdalene threw her a pillow, which Lily caught skillfully and placed under her head. "Thanks," she muttered as she got comfortable. "I don't think we should tell James I'm on bed rest."

"Why?" Magdalene asked with raised eyebrows.

"Because I want to go to this meeting."

"I think you should stay resting," Magdalene advised. "For Harry."

"This meeting is for Harry too. It's to ensure he has a future."

Magdalene laughed softly. "I don't think that argument is going to fly, Lily."

Lily growled in disagreement before closing her eyes to take a nap. Magdalene stood up from the chair. "I'm going to head home for a few before the meeting. If I see you there, I'll bring you back home myself."

"I could take you," Lily said with her eyes still closed.

The comment brought a smile to Magdalene's lips. "Yea…eight month pregnant witch verse starving immortal vampire—it'd be an epic battle."

Lily laughed and nodded. "I'll see you later." Magdalene bowed her head before moving to the front door and exiting the flat. She put her hands deep into her pockets as she walked down the street, glancing at mortal population as they passed her. She picked up every scent, every thought and emotion that was buzzing outside around her like white noise. To Magdalene, the thoughts and emotions were so loud it felt like everyone should be able to hear them, but she knew such a thing was ridiculous. While biting her lip she cocked her head to the side and sighed. She pulled aviator sunglasses out of her coat pocket and put them on to block her eyes from the stunningly bright sun. She was getting hungry; become more sensitive to the sunlight and the smells of the sweet blood banks walking around her. After walking a block, Magdalene turned the corner to an alley between two apartments. She ducked behind the trashcans and teleported without a second glance to the busy street down the alley.

When she appeared in her shake of a house, she marched through the empty, dusty living room to the bedroom. In her closet, she dug underneath a pile of clothes and pulled out a long shining knife. If she was going to go steal from a blood bank, she felt she should be prepared. After what she had found at Palazzo del Te a few weeks ago she wasn't sure if someone had simply stolen her blood supply out of hunger, or if someone was trying to cut her off—force her into hunting. Magdalene had the sneaking suspicion that someone was closing in on her; a vampire was looming near by ready to strike and kill her in the name of Melanie Thompson.

Magdalene turned on her heel as she stepped away from her closet only to stop dead in the middle of her room as her eyes met a man standing before her. She frowned viciously as the forest green eyes of Constantine Octavius stared back at her now silver glare. He was standing casually in her room, leaning against the wall in the corner next to her bed.

"You should be more aware of your surroundings," he whispered with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "If I were an assassin I would have had no problem killing you just now."

"Guess it's my lucky day," she hissed not relaxing her tensed body. "What are you doing here?"

"Is it a bad time?"

"Yes, I was about to go out."

"You can stay here and have my blood," he whispered as he stood up straight and fixed his suit coat. He slowly approached the bed, standing opposite of Magdalene, who was ridged. "Then we can talk. Seems like a reasonable solution to this being a bad time."

"It's a bad time because I was about to go out _and _I don't want to see you."

"Ouch, Maggie, I thought we really hit it off the last time we met."

"You're like a bad cold," Magdalene sighed. "You keep coming back when I don't want to you."

"That's a little harsh for only just meeting me. Don't trust me?"

Magdalene gave Constantine a charming smile and clapped her hands slowly. "Give the man an award."

Constantine rolled his shoulders back and stood up straight as he placed his hands in his pockets. Magdalene watched him carefully, observing his movements, to see if he was going to pull a weapon out of his pocket that may threaten her. He didn't appear to be threatening her and she relaxed for a moment, just long enough to take in his handsome appearance. He was wearing jeans and brown suit coat, with a matching waistcoat and white button up underneath. The red tie down the center of his body was a nice touch to the outfit. Magdalene bit her lip. She hated that vampires were so well dress and attractive. Constantine reminded her of Demetrius—which made her hate him more—she didn't like thinking about Demetrius. It hurt too much. Out of habit, she touched the dirty diamond that hung around her neck.

"You don't have to trust me," he replied to her sarcastic comment. But he was looking at her with a curious stare, as if he had read her feelings and knew she was mournful but didn't know who or what for. "But I think it says something that Dumbledore trusts me."

"Just because he trusts you with affairs for the Order doesn't mean I trust you with affairs that concern my life. Please leave my home." Magdalene looked Constantine coldly in the face as she spoke. She just wanted him to leave. He pushed her buttons; brought back old memories of dead lovers; and she couldn't trust him no matter how much Dumbledore did. Constantine Octavius was not a vampire she wanted to be close to. He was playing too many sides; too many people. Magdalene didn't want that to come back and bite her.

"You really consider this your home?" he whispered as he looked around. He stepped away from the bed and turned his back to Magdalene for a moment as he paced around. By the time he had finished inspecting her bedroom he was standing on her side of the bed, only a few feet from her. "I thought you had better taste."

"I don't care much for nice things," Magdalene stated. "Not much of a point of having nice things when you're on the run, hiding from your own kind because you're wanted dead."

"You've been wanted dead all your life," Constantine shrugged, casually restating something she had said the first time they had met. Magdalene glared at him more harshly with silver eyes.

"What exactly do you want? Did you come here to prove a point—that you know where I live, so Melanie does too?"

"Well, that is one thing," he nodded. "But maybe I just wanted to see you."

Magdalene made a mock gagging sound and rolled her eyes. "Please," she said as she looked up at him. "You don't think I'll actually fall for that…besides we both know I'm not your type."

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm immortal," Magdalene said looking up at Constantine. "I'm sure you prefer mortals like most vampires."

Constantine shrugged. "All women are the same, whether they're magical, immortal or Muggle."

"Well thank you," she replied. "I'm flattered." She wasn't really. "Now, will you please leave?"

"Do you want my blood or not?" he whispered leaning in close to her.

"Why are you always so eager to give me your blood?" Magdalene questioned with resentment. Constantine smirked.

"I just thought I'd offer since it's obvious you need it right now," he replied. "Why don't you trust me?"

"I thought that was just as obvious."

Constantine stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for Magdalene to continue with her explanation, but she didn't. She slinked by him; squeezing her body carefully between his and the bed making sure not to touch him. His eyes lingered on her as she came close to him and she couldn't help but catch her breath. She rolled her eyes away from him with annoyance. She did have to give him some credit. He was a very good vampire.

"Told you, the magic was beaten out of me," he said.

"I really wish you would stop reading my mind," Magdalene hissed as she went to the bedroom door.

"You make it too easy, darling," he replied with a grin as he followed her from the room. He leaned in the doorframe of her bedroom and watched as she pulled on a traveling cloak. "Magdalene," he said gently.

Magdalene stood up straight and looked at him. There was a serious tone to his voice that caught her attention.

"Once you leave this place," he whispered. "I wouldn't come back. Melanie discovered your whereabouts yesterday. You need to find a new place."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"It's in the best interests of the Order, and my Mother, that you live," he shrugged innocently as he stepped forward into the empty sitting room. He didn't take his forest green eyes off of her as he approached. She stood her ground, letting him close to her as he stared her down. She didn't look away though; she stared right back at him, her eye color remaining silver.

"The best interests of Octavia?" Magdalene laughed lightly. "Only because I am Melanie's enemy. As soon as Melanie is dead and her clan destroyed, I will be the last of the Donovan clan in the country. No doubt, then, it will not be in Octavia's best interests to see that I am alive. She'll eventually come after me."

"Dumbledore and I will not let her," Constantine said easily, causing Magdalene to laugh more.

"Please, Constantine," she said with her smile. "We both know you are loyal to one thing—your blood. And let's not pretend that Dumbledore has any influence over Octavia or even you."

Constantine shook his head. "You don't know me at all, Maggie," he said with an aggressive stare as he leaned in close to her face. He stole a kiss from her lips as she glared at him, catching her entirely off guard, and making her blood boil. He moved past her, heading for the front door. "Don't come back here. Good luck getting your blood."

He disappeared before another word could be said. Magdalene let out a yell of frustration and threw the knife that she was still holding straight into the wall. Without a second glance, she marched out of the house, slamming the door loudly behind her. Her temper was raging, and being hungry didn't help the situation. Without looking to see if anyone could see her on the street she teleported mid-step; she didn't care if any mortals saw her disappear into thin air. Chances were they wouldn't believe their own eyes anyways.

She appeared in the basement of a hospital and continued to walk as if she hadn't just appeared out of thin air in the hallway. She looked over her shoulder as she walked and saw two nurses moving in the opposite direction, oblivious that she had just appeared. Magdalene turned a corner and carefully stopped next to a solid white door. Not to her surprise, the handle was locked, when she tried to twist it. She bit her bottom lip and held her hand over it, looking back and forth down the hall to make sure no one was coming. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the lock below her hand. Her fingers twitched as she visualized the tumbler of the lock. She moved her finger to the left and in a circular motion, forcing the tumbler to roll. There was a soft click of the lock releasing. She smirked and opened her eyes, then turned the handle, letting herself into the locked blood bank of the hospital.

Magdalene had been there before. It was a blood bank that Demetrius had told her about when she was much younger; that is where the blood that was kept in the freezers of Palazzo del Te had come from. She made her way through the familiar room and pulled open a fridge in the back of the room. There were only three refrigerators worth of blood in the hospital. Magdalene wasn't sure how much blood the hospital usually needed to keep on hand so she carefully took one bag of O positive blood from a fridge and moved to the sink on the other side of the room.

Her fangs slid forward as soon as she reached the sink. She brought the bag to her lips and carefully punctured the plastic with her sharp fangs. Ice-cold rich blood flushed her mouth, caressing her tongue and the insides of her cheeks. She swallowed the blood quickly, guzzling the iron rich liquid with unquenchable thirst. As the blood ran down her throat visions of an old man's memories filled her mind.

Her head ached as she saw the old man's wife smiling towards him as she lifted a great-grandchild up into her lap. The man felt undying love for his wife and the child she held. There was pure happiness to his memory, making his blood all the richer.

Magdalene tore the bag from her mouth and gasped for breath. She licked her lips while moving to a medical waste bin. She dropped the empty blood bag into the bin as her tongue ran over her teeth, cleaning them of any spare blood. Magdalene felt her body relax and her eyes returned to a calm green stare. She cocked her head to the side, stretched her arms and then went to the fridge again. She took another bag of O positive blood for the road. Carefully, she tucked the blood bag under her coat, pressing it against her waist. She zipped her leather jacket tightly to her and made to leave the blood bank.

The hallway was still empty when Magdalene emerged. She closed the door tightly behind her and casually walked down the hall away from the blood bank as if nothing happened. When she turned the corner of the hallway, she ran straight into someone, crashing into their chest.

"I'm so sorry!" Magdalene said quickly as she backed away from the stranger she had run into. The person she had run into must have been a doctor; he was wearing blue scrubs and a white lab coat. He wore thin glasses that sat high on the bridge of his nose in front of handsome brown eyes. The doctor took Magdalene's arms to support her in fear that she would fall over.

"It's quite alright," he whispered. "An accident." He looked her over with curious eyes. "What are you doing down here? This level is restricted to hospital staff only."

"I-I got lost," Magdalene said with ease as she looked up at him. "I was looking for the cafeteria and the elevator brought me to this floor."

The doctor nodded. "This hospital is a bit of a maze."

"Aren't most hospitals?" Magdalene asked with a nervous laugh. The doctor nodded as he studied her more closely. Magdalene didn't like the way he was looking at her; there was an animalistic hunger in his eyes that made her heart skip beat with fright.

"You're here visiting someone?"

"My fiancé," the lie was flawless.

"Fiancé?" the doctor questioned with a note of skepticism.

"Yes," she nodded. "If you'll excuse me—please, I just wanted to get something to eat. Is the elevator back this way?"

"What floor is your fiancé on?" the doctor asked as Magdalene tried to get by him. She wondered if she smelled like blood—why was he being so suspicious of her? She wasn't picking up any thoughts from him, or emotions. She looked up at the doctor with sudden realization as her eyes burned and violently changed from green to silver. She could not read him because he was a vampire.

She made to punch the vampire in the jaw, but he anticipated her move and grabbed her wrist, blocking the blow. He threw her into the hallway wall. Magdalene's head smacked against the dry wall, leaving a dent. As the vampire lunged at her, she kicked out her foot, straight into his stomach, causing him to double over. She stood up straight, regaining her balance, and kicked him in the face. He fell over onto the floor. Before Magdalene had the chance to run away or even teleport the vampire threw a sharp star at her. She dodged the rotating weapon just in time to avoid it stabbing her in the chest. As she turned moving out of the way, the throwing star caught the side of her coat and sliced open the plastic bag of blood she was hiding. Magdalene slammed her body back into the wall in avoidance of the star and slipped on the spilt blood. The vampire was moving fast now; he had regained his composure and was ready for round two of the fight.

His eyes were no longer brown or handsome; they were dark stone grey with a hungry intent in them. The smell of the O positive blood was reeking in the air causing him to look at Magdalene as if she was a tasty snack. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back, slamming it against the wall. Magdalene cried out in pain and frustration but didn't give the vampire the pleasure of seeing it on her face.

"I thought you weren't mortal anymore?" he hissed like an angry cat as he dipped his fingers in the spilled blood. He licked his fingers and jeered at Magdalene; he liked the taste of the blood that had been spilled. Without warning, his fangs slid forward and he fell on her, sinking his white teeth into her neck. Magdalene cried out in pain—the bastard was not being gentle about taking her blood; he was ruthlessly going to suck her dry—or so he thought.

Magdalene tried to struggle against the doctor on top of her, but it was no use. He was heavy and had her pinned in a position that did not allow her to kick or punch. His hand was strategically placed over her mouth preventing anyone from hearing her screams. Magdalene was flashing back to the times her Father had bitten her when she was young; or when he let his friends and blood brothers drink her as if she was an exotic magical blood cocktail. She squirmed; refusing to give up, but the doctor's grip grew stronger.

He pulled away reluctantly to look down at her and jeer. He stroked her cheek with his blood-covered fingers and squeezed her face, holding her cheeks firmly to make sure she was looking him in the eye.

"Melanie sends her regards," he whispered in a low voice. Magdalene could only glare at him. She wished she hadn't thrown her knife into the wall at home. She was going to kick Constantine's ass if she lived to see him again. If he hadn't come to her house she wouldn't have gotten frustrated and stabbed the wall.

As the doctor leaned in to suck more of Magdalene's delicious blood from her neck he convulsed. He jerked back, releasing Magdalene, and groaned in agony as his skin started to boil, turning red hot and blistering. It started around his mouth first, and then down his neck and chest to his stomach. Magdalene crawled away watching him in shock as he yelled out in pain and grabbed his head, screaming as if he was being burned with a red-hot poker. Within moments, his screams turned agonizing as his body abruptly burst into flames. Magdalene threw her body back, farther away from the burning vampire, and watched in surprise with mild horror as the vampire's body went up in flames, his screams echoing in the halls around her. Magdalene teleported immediately; she didn't want to be around when someone came running because they heard the doctor screaming; she didn't stay long enough to see the vampire turn completely to ash, leaving only a dirty bloody mess in the hall for someone to find.


	7. Shades of Grey

She didn't have the strength to make it home; not that she had the intention of going there. Magdalene was under the assumption that if a vampire from Melanie Thompson's clan could find her at a blood bank within minutes of her arrival, then they could definitely find her at home. She didn't know what she would go home to; various ideas ran through her head; from her house being destroyed to a couple of giant vampires hiding in her closet. The bloody fight at the hospital was enough to set Magdalene into hiding.

Her body was too weak to teleport far. She managed to teleport out of the hospital and into a dark street alley somewhere nearby. It had started to rain, causing Magdalene to shiver as blood dripped down her neck and collarbone. Unable to balance her body, she fell against the brick wall of the tall building surrounding the alley. She groaned as she opened her coat and pulled the plastic bag that had once been filled with delicious O positive blood out. She dropped the bag uselessly in a nearby trash bin, then collapsed to the concrete. Lying in a fetal position her body started to shake because of the cold rain. Magdalene's mind was racing despite being physically exhausted and beaten. She put her hand to her neck, covering the bite marks, and tried to stop the bleeding. Despite being a full immortal vampire, it was possible for Magdalene to bleed out. Because of the extent of her injuries and the amount of blood that the vampire had taken from her, she was not able to self heal at that time. She needed to get to someone who could give her blood. Once she had some pressure dressings on her neck and blood in her system her body would regenerate to heal itself.

Magdalene immediately thought of Sirius only because he would be willing to help her. He no doubt felt her pain because of their covenant connection. Perhaps he would be able to find her soon. Sirius coming to save her would have helped Magdalene greatly, but she had a sudden realization of what could happen if he came to help her. Obviously, Melanie's vampires were close to finding Magdalene. If she went to Sirius for any sort of help, he would be put in great danger.

This thought made Magdalene frown deeply. This also meant she couldn't go to the Potters, or even Remus' place where the Order of the Phoenix was meeting that night. The meeting—Magdalene cringed as she realized she wanted to be at that meeting because Dumbledore had written her privately to say that he would be introducing Constantine to the rest of the Order. He also requested that she attend because he had a special assignment for her, if she was willing to help. If she did not show up to that meeting, everyone would be worried about her and no doubt Sirius would come looking for her with fire in his eyes.

Constantine. Magdalene frowned as she thought of the handsome half vampire. The idea of going to him for help was sickening to her, but she felt she didn't have any other choice. He was the only one she could trust to help her heal, provide her with blood, and keep her safe while Melanie's vampires were on her tail. But Constantine _was _one of Melanie's vampires. What if that was his plan all along? He warned her about vampires coming to her house to gain her trust so that she would come to him in need and he could have the honor of killing her in Melanie's name? Magdalene bit her lip harshly as the blood from her neck started to leak through her fingers and down the back of her hand. She didn't have much choice—trusting Constantine was a risk she was going to have to take.

"Get up, Maggie," she encouraged herself. She pushed herself up slowly so she was sitting on her knees and then leaned against the wall as she tried to stand. While holding her neck, blood completely soaking her clothes, she concentrated all of her energy on Constantine Octavius.

She had to channel the deepest part of her magic because her blood supply was so weak, but she managed to find Constantine. Once a vampire takes a donor's blood, they are able to find them at any time through the blood laws that connect them. Usually it takes a vampire a great deal of time and energy to find a donor they have had only once, but because Magdalene had only drank Sirius' and Constantine's blood it was easy to find him.

She teleported from the rainy alley worried that she might regret what she was about to do. Without warning she appeared in the middle of Constantine's penthouse suite in the heart of London; her entrance was announced when her body crashed into the glass coffee table that sat at the center of his living room. Glass shattered across the white carpeted floor, tearing open Magdalene's body as it impacted. She cried out unexpectedly and rolled onto her back as she lay on the carpeted floor. As she looked around her in the dark living room, she saw black shapes that outlined modern furniture and décor. The room was entirely decorated in black and white.

A groan escaped Magdalene's lips as her hand fell off her neck and her dark red blood soaked into Constantine's white carpet.

"Bloody hell, Magdalene!"

Someone was pulling her arms, lifting her up and cradling her body against theirs. Magdalene's eyes fluttered open and shut but she recognized the chiseled features of Constantine's face instantly. She rested her head against his muscular chest; she was too close to unconsciousness to notice that Constantine was half-naked. He was only wearing blue jeans that were still unbuttoned; his feet were bare, and hair wet. He had gotten out of the shower right as Magdalene teleported on his coffee table.

His dark forest green eyes stared down at her as he moved into the kitchen that was connected to the living room. The kitchen was lined with steal counters, black granite and dark redwood cabinets. Constantine laid Magdalene's fatigued body on the island counter top before unzipping her coat quickly. She heard him curse at the amount of blood she was covered in. He leaned in close to her shirt to smell it, then stood up straight.

"This isn't all your blood," he said pulling her coat off each arm slowly. He hesitated for a moment then ripped her shirt down the center, exposing her toned stomach and black bra. He saw the cuts on her stomach from where the throwing star had grazed her, the bruises from being tossed around, and the bite marks on her neck. He grabbed a towel from near by and pressed it against her neck. Magdalene reached up and squeezed his arm weakly, drawing him to look at her eyes. He took her hand and squeezed it for a moment as he tried to control the bleeding.

With his free hand, Constantine opened one of the drawers of the island and pulled out a butcher's knife. He carefully slit his wrist horizontally as he held the towel to Magdalene's throat. He made no sound or appearance of discomfort. Magdalene could not look away form his eyes as she lay beneath him. Staring at his forest green eyes as they moved to take in every inch of her was the only thing that kept her grounded, conscious. She was still shaking from the cold rain; her body ached; her neck was screaming in pain, and she could feel shards of glass sinking into her back from the coffee table.

Constantine's blood jolted Magdalene's system. Her lips clung to his wrist as her tongue lapped at his blood. She drank quickly with yearning. The magic power that his blood carried electrified Magdalene, causing her to crave him even more. Her silver eyes faded to green as she stared up at him as she felt life and strength return to her body. She pulled her lips away from his wrist and took a long slow breath. Constantine stepped back as he removed the towel that was pressed to her neck. The bite marks had not healed themselves yet, so he looked to her stomach. The scraps from the throwing star were gone. He sighed with some relief and moved away from Magdalene's regenerating body. He cleaned up his wrist and wrapped it in a bandage.

"You don't self heal?" she whispered with a dry mouth. She watched him move around the kitchen, retrieving a tall glass from a redwood cabinet and filling it with water for her.

"It will heal in a day," he replied handing her the water. Magdalene sat up and took the glass. She drank it quickly before thanking him. "Hold still," he instructed as he moved to the other side of the island counter. Magdalene looked over her shoulder to see a few pieces of glass sticking out of her back. Constantine leaned across the counter and began to extract them from her skin slowly. They were deeply embedded because she had just been lying on her back. Magdalene didn't feel anything as he pulled them out; and once they were removed her skin healed instantly. "Why are you here?"

"I had no where else to go. You were the only one I could think of that could help me."

"Why not your covenant?"

"He's mortal," she shrugged. "He'd be in danger if vampires followed me to his place."

"What makes you think they won't follow you here?" He came around the counter to stand in front of her again.

"If they did I would have taken care of it," she said with a touch of annoyance on her tongue. Constantine was staring at her intently; he touched her chin gently, but when he spoke there was a serious sharp tone on this tongue.

"I'm in Melanie's clan," he said like she was stupid. "What were you thinking? She could have been here—"

"I assumed since you're supposed to be at the Order meeting in half an hour you'd be alone," Magdalene replied sharply. She smacked his hand away. "You were the only one I could think of that could handle the situation. It would have been a disaster if I had gone to Sirius."

"So that's his name," Constantine smirked as he pressed the towel to Magdalene's neck. "You're still bleeding."

Magdalene frowned. "Why hasn't it healed yet?"

Constantine shrugged. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"A vampire attacked me."

"Why did he try to take your blood?"

"I had a blood bag under my coat," Magdalene explained. "When he threw a star at me it cut the bag and he smelled the blood. He assumed it was mine."

"He was an idiot," Constantine shook his head.

"He was from Melanie's clan."

"I warned you."

"The last thing I need is you telling me you told me so," she hissed. Constantine bowed his head in apology. "Has the bleeding stopped?"

"Not quite yet," Constantine glanced at the clock that sat next to his stove and frowned. "I should get to that meeting. Everyone is going to be wondering where you are."

"They won't believe you," Magdalene replied. "Sirius won't believe you for a second."

"Shouldn't he sense that you are better now?"

Magdalene shrugged. "I don't know the exact laws of the covenant. I am sure he felt my pain though. He probably arrived in the alley soon after I left."

"So, he'll be coming here?"

"No, because now I'm fine," Magdalene smirked.

"You can stay here tonight," Constantine said looking at her neck. He shook his head. "It's still not stopping. He was just a regular vampire?"

"What do you mean a regular vampire? Are their variations of our kind now?"

"You were once a variation," Constantine said sharply taking some offense to her questions. "I am a variation."

Magdalene frowned. "Sorry," she muttered. "I don't know if he was different at all. He didn't seem that powerful. But, I couldn't sense his thoughts or emotions. I didn't realize he was a vampire at first. I just thought he was a doctor."

"Doctor?" Constantine questioned with surprise. "There aren't any doctors in Melanie's clan."

"That you know of," Magdalene suggested. "Or maybe he was just posing as a doctor, like I was posing as a lost visitor."

Constantine nodded but he didn't seem eased by her comment.

"I don't have to stay here tonight," Magdalene said. "I don't want to bring vampires into your house."

"You'll be safer here," Constantine said matter-of-factly. "We both know that's why you came here to start. Vampires can't sense you here, this place is protected."

"By what?"

"Magic," Constantine smiled. He tapped her thigh playfully then left the side of the counter. Magdalene watched him as he walked away, disappearing through an open door in the living room that she assumed led to his bedroom. As he moved, the muscles of his upper body flexed attractively, making her sigh and look away. She didn't want to think about Constantine and his sexiness; or the handsome tattoo of a monster that was on his right side, stretching across his rib cage, under his arm.

"It's not a monster," he yelled from the bedroom. "It's Empusa!"

"She's a monster!" Magdalene retorted sharply as she crossed her arms over her chest. She hopped off the counter and picked up her shredded clothing. "Constantine, I don't suppose you have a shirt I could borrow?"

There was a trashcan sitting in the corner of the kitchen. She easily threw the destroyed shirt in it, then approached the doorframe of the bedroom carefully. When she looked in, Constantine was nowhere to be found. As she bit her bottom lip she entered the black and white bedroom; white carpet and walls, black furniture, drapes, and décor. She looked around curiously wondering why Constantine had such a defined style.

"Ying and yang," he said behind her. Magdalene jumped and turned to face him with a dark eyed glare. "The perfect balance of two opposite things."

"Everything isn't always black and white, Constantine," she said. He was standing close to her, his half-naked body leaning into her; his bare torso about to press against her naked stomach. "There are shades of grey."

"I suppose you're going to tell me it is completely possible to be a wizard and a vampire," he whispered with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes."

"And yet, you lived your life always choosing one," he said. "Never did you live as both. You hid your witch side from your vampire family, you hid your vampire side from your magical friends—now you are all vampire. Which did you choose, black or white?"

"I didn't choose," Magdalene growled pushing Constantine away. "Someone else chose for me."

He smiled as he stepped back and looked her up and down. His green eyes fell on the scars covering her torso and arms, causing him to frown. His eyes looked sad, but not pitiful. Magdalene wasn't sure what he was thinking; she wished she had better control of her telepathic abilities. She didn't like the look he was giving her. It was a look of remorse; as if he wished he had been there to stop the pain she felt.

"I'm sorry you have only known shades of grey your entire life," he whispered. "I'll get you a shirt."

Magdalene wasn't exactly sure what Constantine meant by that statement. She bit her bottom lip and watched him as he disappeared into a large walk-in closet. He appeared within moments with a white tee shirt in hand.

"Do you want pants to sleep in?"

"No," she replied as she looked up at him with calm eyes. He stood next to her longer then was appropriate, but she didn't mind. "What did you mean I've only known shades of grey?"

"You've never known good or bad," he responded matching her calm stare. "You've known both. Your Father, a man who was supposed to protect you, was horrible to you. You've seen both sides of the world—the good and the bad. You've never known just one or the other."

"I grew up only knowing bad," she replied. "Good was something I learned at Hogwarts, and that was quickly taken form me. So, let's focus on what's in front of us—"

"—You're in front of me—" he smirked while interrupting her.

Magdalene ignored him and continued to speak. "Go to the Order meeting and help them figure out how to stop Voldemort."

Constantine shook his head. "I told you, we have no interest in stopping him."

"Oh," Magdalene smiled sarcastically. "That's right…you're just out to get Melanie. And eventually me?"

Constantine smiled and nodded his head. "That's right."

"Thanks for the warning," Magdalene replied before pulling the shirt over her head. She reached under it, and around her back, and unhooked her bra; then removed it from under her shirt. Constantine's eyes remained on hers the entire time. She stared at him intently, as if daring him to look any lower then her neck as she removed her bra. She dropped it uselessly to the floor.

"You can sleep on the bed," he said. "I'll take the couch if I come home tonight."

"Where will you go if you don't come home?"

"To see my Mother," he whispered stealing a kiss from her cheek. She glared at him as he backed away, heading for the closet again. "Get some rest, Maggie. You're going to need your strength."

_Strength for what?_ She wondered. Magdalene bit her bottom lip before following Constantine's path to the closet. She called his name as she approached. When she stuck her head into the closet she wasn't surprised to see that he was completely naked. She turned away, blushing slightly and sighed, trying to regain her composure.

"What is it, Maggie?"

"I was just wondering if you knew what a vampire sees when they drink another vampire's blood?"

"Well what did you see when you had my blood?" He asked emerging form the closet with a new pair of black slacks and a belt on. His perfectly muscular form was enticing to Magdalene's sexually hungry eyes. She bit her bottom lip and forced herself to look up at Constantine's forest green stare.

"I mean what did that bastard see when he drank my blood? What happens before they turn to ash?"

Constantine shrugged. "I'm not sure, to be honest."

"You're useless," Magdalene said with a sigh of exasperation.

The comment caused Constantine to laugh aloud. He grabbed her hand before she could turn away and pulled her small frame tightly against his body. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay and keep you company?"

"What kind of a question is that?" Magdalene snipped pulling out of his arms. She was giving him the ugliest look she could muster, but it didn't hide the fact that she liked his flattering, teasing words, or his rock hard body pressed against hers. And she had the sneaking suspicion that he could see right through her ugly glare. It irked her slightly that Constantine was a better vampire then her; only because she was the full-fledged vampire, not him.

"I've embraced my vampire side from the beginning, Maggie," he whispered coming closer to her. "And you still reject yours…you shouldn't fight who you are…or your desires."

"Get off of me," Magdalene clawed at Constantine's hand. She turned sharply and walked away from him to the bathroom. She slammed the door before leaning against it and turning the lock. "Go to the meeting Constantine…"

"Alright, alright," he said against the door so Magdalene could hear him. "I'm sorry I can't answer your question. I'll be back later. Don't let anyone in to the apartment. If one of Melanie's or even Octavia's vampires shows up to call on me, they'll surely kill you."

"Thank you," she snipped with a roll of her eyes. She thought it was slightly ridiculous that they were having a conversation through the bathroom door.

"You could always open the door."

"Go away!" she shouted annoyed.

Magdalene could hear him still laughing on the other side of the door. She waited patiently for the penthouse to grow completely silent before carefully opening the bathroom door and poking her head out. She expanded her mind in search of Constantine's presents in the penthouse, but he was no where to be found. She sighed with some relief and exited the bathroom, heading straight for the over sized bed across the room. It was covered in black sheets and comforter. Magdalene slipped her pants off and carefully crawled under the blankets before lying her head on the black pillowcases. Her body instantly relaxed; she was still weak from the attack and loss of blood earlier in the evening. As she lay in Constantine's bed she couldn't help but feel at ease—and it wasn't because she was in his bed, it was just because she was finally lying down in a safe place. She hadn't felt safe in her own bed for weeks; the fact that she found safety in a man's bed, let alone Constantine's, perturbed her—but not enough to make her leave.


	8. Sirius' Feelings

The sound of Constantine returning home the next morning woke Magdalene. She sat up carefully in the bed, with mild confusion in her groggy eyes, before remembering the events of the night before. Magdalene sighed and got out of the bed quickly. She approached the living room of Constantine's penthouse slowly and silently. There was no door to the bedroom, just a wide threshold leading to the living room and connecting kitchen. She leaned against the wall by the threshold and peered around into the living room. She could hear someone in the kitchen, but not see him or her from where she was standing. She frowned and expanded her mind to engulf the penthouse.

To her surprise, Sirius Black's thoughts entered her mind, creating feelings of uneasiness in her system. She stood up straight and appeared in the living room.

"Sirius," she stammered when her eyes fell on him. He was standing next to the island counter in the kitchen, holding a trash can in one hand and Magdalene's bloody shirt in the other. He looked up from them and a sigh of relief escaped his lips. He dropped the shirt into the can and placed it on the ground before coming to her. His blood-covered hand touched her cheek gently, leaving traces of her own blood on her skin. He leaned in and kissed her in greeting. She pulled away quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," he said quickly. "I felt your pain last night, but when I arrived at the hospital you were gone—why didn't you come to me—"

"Stop," Magdalene said raising her hands as her eyes turned to silver drastically. She glared at him sharply, causing him to step back with confusion. She could feel his bewilderment reverberating off her temple, but she didn't care. She wasn't worried about Sirius' feelings right now—she was wondering what the hell he was doing searching Constantine's place for her.

"What's the matter? Do you need blood?"

"No," she hissed. "How did you find me here?"

"I lost my connection with you until this morning," Sirius shrugged. "I couldn't sense you."

"Did you go to the meeting?"

"Only to tell them that I couldn't find you. Constantine said you were safe—but let's be honest, we can't trust that slimy bastard. Why did you come here and not to me?"

There was a tone of disappointment in his voice. She frowned deeply. This was not something she had anticipated. She did not predict Sirius feeling jealous or hurt by her coming to Constantine rather then him for help.

"I didn't want to put you at risk," she responded letting her expression ease and her eyes return to their green state. "It was too dangerous. Melanie's vampires are getting too close. I couldn't risk them finding me with you or any other mortal. This place is protected because Constantine is a spy in Melanie's clan."

"He's probably a spy in the Order too," Sirius said shaking his head. "I don't know why Dumbledore trust him—" Sirius stopped speaking as his midnight eyes looked her over. "You're only in a shirt."

"You're very observant, Sirius," Magdalene nodded. "I'll go get my pants…then we can leave."

Sirius nodded his head but continued to frown. Magdalene felt his concern and disappointment flood her system.

"You might want to get a better grip on your emotions," she whispered before stepping away to return to the bedroom.

"Perhaps you should control your empathic abilities better." His words were fast and sharp. Magdalene frowned but said nothing as she pulled her pants and boots back on. Sirius disappeared into the bathroom for a moment. He returned carrying a wet clothe and stopped to stand next to Magdalene as she sat on the bed putting her boots on. She looked up at him with raised eyebrows.

"There's blood from your shirt on your cheek," he whispered before he wiped it off for her. She thanked him then stood up so her body was close to his. He stared into her eyes, making her feel empty inside. Suddenly, she felt heartless. How could she be mad at Sirius for being worried about her and for being upset that she didn't come to him when they were in a relationship together?

"We're in a relationship now?" he smirked as he dropped the clothe on the bed behind Magdalene. She frowned slightly.

"You're too good at reading my mind," she whispered as he leaned in close and kissed her lips again.

"Damn," he said pulling away after their kiss. "I was enjoying our commitment free sexual relationship."

"We can keep it that way if you really want to," she said while wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Whatever you want," he shrugged before kissing her again.

"If you two like, you can borrow my bed for the day. I'll just come back home tomorrow…"

Magdalene pulled away from Sirius and looked around his shoulder as he turned to face the threshold of the bedroom. Constantine was standing in the threshold, looking charming and suave. He was wearing the suit he had left in to go to the meeting the night before; his shirt was unbuttoned half way, his tie and waistcoat un-done, and his coat slung over his shoulder. Magdalene frowned at the sight of him.

"Constantine," she whispered stepping forward. "We're just leaving."

Constantine bowed his head. "It was a pleasure to have you, Maggie. Please, feel free to drop by anytime."

"I hope I won't have to," she said. "Thank you, for your help."

Constantine looked her squarely in the eye as she approached him. "Of course," he whispered. She frowned at how gentle his words were. She couldn't read him, empathically or telepathically. Why was he looking at her with such tender eyes? Was he sorry to see her go? She bit her bottom lip and moved around him.

"How was the meeting?" she asked as she pulled her wand out of her boot and went to the center of the living room.

"Fine," both men said at the same time. Magdalene looked over her shoulder at them as she stood over the broken coffee table. She nodded her head with raised eyebrows before turning and pointing her wand at the broken glass and metal frame that were scattered across the white carpeting. She flicked her wand easily, erasing the destruction, and rewinding the scene as if it had never happened. She even made the bloodstains in the carpet disappear.

"Oh, thank you," Constantine smiled. "My cleaning lady won't have to worry about it now."

Magdalene rolled her eyes at him. "Of course you have a cleaning lady."

Constantine shrugged with another charming smile.

"Right," Sirius said. "Well, Maggie, shall we be going?"

"Where are you going to go?" Constantine asked Magdalene.

"To my place, if it's any of your business," Sirius responded. Constantine glanced at him as he spoke but looked back at Magdalene.

"I don't think that's a good idea—"

"—well, we didn't ask your opinion," Sirius interjected harshly. "And we don't really have any where else to go now."

"You should stay here."

Magdalene frowned. She had foreseen this coming.

"I don't know Constantine," she whispered with a shake of her head. "You said it yourself, you're in Melanie's clan. And we both know it's just a matter of time before your Mother puts a hit on me."

Constantine frowned but nodded. "Just be careful."

Magdalene smiled at him. "I will," she winked. "Thanks again."

"Anytime," Constantine said as he walked them to the door. Magdalene said good bye to him as they walked out of the penthouse. She felt Constantine's eyes on her as they walked out into the hallway. She paused and looked around, unsure of where to go.

"This way," Sirius said as he placed his hand on the small of her back.

Constantine closed the door behind them, leaving them in the quite hallway alone.

"How did you get in there?"

"Apparated," he shrugged. Magdalene nodded as they arrived at the end of the hallway in front of gleaming silver elevator doors.

"Tell me about the meeting?"

Sirius pushed the button for the elevator and turned to speak to Magdalene as they waited patiently for the lift.

"It went well," he whispered. "Except that we were all very worried about you. I was late because I was looking for you. Constantine insisted that you were safe, but wouldn't tell me where you were. Dumbledore pulled me aside and assured me we could trust him."

"I don't really," Magdalene whispered.

"Then why did you go to him?"

There was the hurt expression again, and the some-what angry tone on Sirius' tongue. Magdalene didn't like it and she turned to face the elevator doors while crossing her arms over her chest.

"There are some things I can trust about him," she whispered. "I knew it was a risk, but I also knew that right now he is loyal to Octavia, no one else. Right now, Octavia wants me alive because I am keeping the clan broken. As soon as Melanie is out of the way, that is when I really will not be able to trust Constantine. That's why Octavia will change her mind and come after me."

Sirius frowned deeply as a chime filled their ears announcing the arrival of the elevator. The doors slid open and Magdalene stepped in first, she was still a little annoyed by Sirius. He was still oozing jealous and hurt emotions. She didn't understand why he was so upset—she had taken his safety into consideration. Constantine was able to assess and respond to the situation quickly because he knew what Magdalene needed. She needed blood and her wounds cleaned so they would self heal. She wasn't sure if Sirius would know that right away.

"You could have told me," Sirius muttered.

"I was practically unconscious!" Magdalene exploded while the elevator descended. Her eyes turned silver and she turned away from Sirius to stare at the wall. Her fangs slid forward as she grabbed onto the railing that lined the elevator and squeezed it with all her strength. The railing buckled under her hands. When she stepped back, shocked by her own strength, two hand prints remained in the metal railing, crushed.

"You need blood."

"Yes," Magdalene spat. "And I need you to not be so hurt by the decisions I make. You're not my boyfriend Sirius, you're my covenant."

"So, you only sleep with me because we're bond together by an ancient magical ritual that we accidentally performed when I saved your life?"

Magdalene frowned and moved back into a corner of the elevator. She felt trapped. She didn't want to have this argument again with Sirius. Yes, they had feelings for each other. But, did they always have to justify their actions based on those feelings? Did Sirius have to questions those feelings to know that Magdalene still cared about him? She felt like she was back in school again—Sirius just didn't understand her. And she didn't really understand him.

"I'm sorry," she conceded. "The comment was a low blow. I do not just sleep with you because you're my covenant. I enjoy having sex with you and I do have feelings for you."

"But…?"

"But, I don't understand why you always have to bring up if I have feelings for you," Magdalene said sharply as she stared at Sirius with desperate but angry silver eyes. "You know I do. I've told you. You can read my mind. You know I care about you. Why do you have to keep questioning it like you don't trust me? And—why are you questioning it like you don't trust me when we're not in an exclusive relationship? It shouldn't matter—"

"It does matter," Sirius said ruthlessly. "You asked me to stop seeing other people. Why do I have to stop seeing other people and you still get to mess around?"

"I did not ask you to stop seeing other women—you made that decision on your own to try and prove yourself to me. And is that really what you think is going on between Constantine and me?"

Magdalene was floored with shock. But as she stood up straight and rolled her shoulders back she thought perhaps she shouldn't be. Sirius was acting like he had when they were younger. It didn't matter how Magdalene felt; it mattered how she acted. She knew it the night that they had first ran into each other, months ago, and he had suggested sex as they lay in her bed. He was the same then. Why did you she think he was going to change just because they were going to try and date…try to be something…

"I see the way he looks at you."

Magdalene wanted to slug Sirius.

"I have no control over that, Sirius," she hissed as the elevator chimed and the doors open. Magdalene dashed through them, not giving Sirius a second glance. He grabbed her elbow in the lobby and pulled her back.

"Don't you think we should talk about this?"

Magdalene's eyes looked down at Sirius' hand on her arm, then looked back up at his blue eyes. He frowned and released her, sighing with exasperation.

"I thought we had worked this out," he sighed coming after her as she made to exit the lobby of the building.

"I thought so to," Magdalene said opening the door of the building. "I thought you were going to try and not be a jealous bastard—"

"Hey," Sirius grabbed her again and swung her around into his muscular chest. "_I am not a jealous bastard."_

"Really?" Magdalene snipped sarcastically. "Because that's what it feels like. You know, since I can _feel_ your feelings."

Sirius glared at her with such a heavy look that Magdalene thought he very well could be a vampire. She stood up straight and tried to pull away from him, but he held her tightly.

"I love you," he said in a serious tone. Magdalene stopped pulling against his grip and stared up at him in awe and confusion.

"What!" she yelled yanking her arm out of his grasp.

"I love you," he repeated.

"How do you know that's not the covenant magic talking?" She stammered as Muggles passed by on the street staring at them yelling at each other. Magdalene ignored their eyes but she couldn't keep their thoughts or emotions out of her head. She was picking up every curious, judgmental idea and emotion that strolled by her. She pushed her palms against her temples as the voices became overwhelming. Sirius didn't say anything, which allowed Magdalene to keep ranting out loud despite the looks she was receiving from everyone around her. "A couple of weeks ago you said you didn't know how you felt, you just knew you cared and you want to be with me—now you love me? Are you kidding me?"

"Why are you making such a scene?" Sirius retorted. "I just tell you I love you and you make a scene! You're the most neurotic, complicated woman I've ever met—"

"And yet you love me!"

"I can't stop," Sirius yelled stepping towards her. "I can't be rid of you. You're always in my head, on my mind and in my heart—"

"That's the covenant magic. You don't love me."

She turned on her heel to walk away from him. To her surprise, he didn't follow. A few blocks away, with steam still rising from her head, a horrible sharp pain erupted in her stomach. Magdalene cried out and keeled over as she grabbed her torso. She fell to her knees in the middle of the sidewalk as she gasped for breath. Her mind raced before she heard Sirius' thoughts in her head. They were full of panic and anger.

Magdalene jumped up and dashed back the way she had come. When she turned the corner onto the block where Constantine's penthouse was, she saw Sirius where she had left him on the sidewalk in a full on fistfight with another man. Magdalene recognized the man immediately as a vampire. She was a little surprised to see such a pale and hungry looking vampire out on the street in the middle of the day, but she was outside too. A vampire being out in the middle of the day was not unheard of.

People were diving out of the way of the physical fight and running across the street. Magdalene saw a Muggle on their cell phone, calling the mortal police. This was not a good thing. She dived into the fight, jumping onto the back of the attacking vampire and wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled back from Sirius and threw Magdalene off his back. She toppled onto the cement in front of the penthouse building. The vampire's attention was immediately drawn to her. His silver eyes locked with hers and his mind penetrated her.

_A pleasure Miss Magdalene,_ his deep voice hissed in her head. Magdalene cringed. If this vampire was calling her Miss Magdalene then he knew her father when she was a young child. Magdalene wrecked her brain, trying to remember if she knew this dark haired vampire from somewhere in her past.

Sirius slammed his body into the vampire's and knocked him clean over onto the ground. Magdalene jumped up at the same time as Sirius. He grabbed her hand and started to lead her away down the pavement in the same direction she had walked before. Magdalene looked over her shoulder as they ran to see the vampire following them.

"Keep going," she hissed. Sirius nodded and kept his fast pace. Magdalene pulled him to a sudden stop when they passed by an alley. "This way!"

She turned and lead Sirius by the hand down the alley between two apartment buildings. She dived down behind a dumpster and pulled his body next to hers.

"Apparate," she said breathlessly while thumbing her hand against his chest. Sirius nodded and wrapped her tightly in his arms. He held her close before closing his eyes. Magdalene quickly closed her eyes and cleared her mind so Sirius could concentrate. Within moments there was a tight pull on her body, much like when she teleported. She felt her body move through space; being squished through a tight tiny tube. Then her feet hit solid ground and she fell over, her body off balanced from the crotched position they had started in.

Magdalene opened her eyes and peered up at the cracked, stained ceiling of Sirius' flat. She let out a sigh of relief as she sat up on her elbows and looked at him. He was sitting on the bedroom floor with his elbows on his knees.

"Did he bite you?"

"No," Sirius shook his head before looking up at her.

"Sirius," she said seriously. "I may not love you—but I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."

Sirius nodded his head in acknowledgement then stood up from the floor.

"Thanks," he muttered and moved out of the bedroom as he tore off his jacket. Magdalene frowned while she watched him leave. The rage he was full of was overwhelming her system. She laid back on the floor while releasing a frustrated sigh. Within a few moments, she heard the shower running. She was not sure what she should do now….the only thing she was sure about was her need for blood…


	9. Questions to Be Asked

Magdalene didn't give her romantic issues with Sirius much thought after that day. She found that it was easiest on her and Sirius to simply ignore the problem and each other. After Sirius got in the shower that day, Magdalene laid on his bedroom floor for a few moments before getting up and leaving the flat entirely. She had decided she had better things to do with her time then lay around waiting for Sirius to cool his head and stop being a jealous jerk. She needed to find some blood and a new home.

Over the course of the next weeks, in the steaming heat of July, Magdalene attempted to find a place to live. She had been staying in the Potter's house or at Hogwarts, rotating nights so she was never in the same place more then two nights, while she searched for a cheap flat to purchase, or an abandoned one to squat in. Lily had insisted that she just make up with Sirius and stay with him; or she was welcome to stay with James and her until the baby came. Magdalene declined both suggestions. There was no way in hell she was staying with Sirius; she had decided to avoid him and his lovey-dovey feelings. And she wasn't going to stay with James and Lily more then she had to because she was already putting them at risk as it was.

Near the end of the month, Magdalene found a potential place off Fifth Street. It was over a Muggle liquor store, which she found charming, and was owned by the storekeeper. The gentleman was nice enough to show her the flat without charge and too many questions. He simply asked if she lived alone.

"Yea," Magdalene said as she looked around the one room flat from the center of the room. The storekeeper was standing at the door of the flat, watching Magdalene as she inspected the room. "It's just me."

"How long do you want the place? People don't usually stick around 'round here," he inquired.

Magdalene looked at the tall, overweight man. She approached him, smelling his liquor heavy blood with her sensitive nostrils. She cringed slightly at the smell and tried to remain cool and composed, as to not be rude.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "As long as I can pay the rent, I guess."

The storekeeper scratched his bald head and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He looked uneasy about Magdalene's comment.

"How long do you think that will be?"

"At least a year," she said, even though she could be paying rent until this man died. When she had assumed her father's and her grandmother's estates she had not only taken on the Donovan clan, but all their money as well. Magdalene was probably one of the wealthiest vampires in the country.

"Alright," the storekeeper nodded. "That's fine. I only take cash, and I don't keep up with this place. That's your job. And no trouble, you hear?"

"Yea, I hear," Magdalene retorted as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a wade of money. She counted out five hundred euro. "Here." She extended it to the storekeeper who took it without question. He turned on his heel and left the flat, leaving Magdalene alone to look around. She walked through the living room (which didn't look like much of a living room at all because of the lack of decorations and furniture) to the single bedroom that was down a small hall. She peaked into the bathroom, with only a toilet and shower, then turned and went into the room. She snapped her fingers and a king size mattress appeared on the bedroom floor. With another snap of her fingers, a small antic puzzle box appeared before her. She held out her hands to catch it gently. Once the box was in her hands she began to pace around the room, listening to the floor boards squeak under her feet. She opened the box while she walked; looking in to see the fragments of Demetrius Malcolm's existence that remained. She frowned slightly as she touched his birth mother's necklace. It was a small silver charm on a short chain. She wondered why he had kept it. A loose floorboard creaked under her feet, causing her to stop. She crotched down and pulled it up off the ground. Carefully, she placed the treasured puzzle box under the floorboard then replaced it so the box was hidden. Magdalene kicked off her boots and collapsed on the bed. She just wanted to sleep now.

Magdalene had been lying on the newly conjured king size bed for no more then five minutes when she heard something break in the living room of the flat. She frowned and let out a perturbed sigh. There wasn't much in the living room to be broken, so whoever had stopped by to visit her was a real idiot. If they were a vampire sent to kill her, they were wasting their time—if they couldn't sneak up on her there was no way they would kill her. She sat up on the mattress and, with mild surprise, smirked at the man standing in the doorframe of the bedroom.

"This is the second time I could have killed you in your bed," Constantine said as he leaned in the frame. Magdalene rolled her eyes.

"If I recall correctly, which I usually do," Magdalene said with some bite in her voice as she laid back on the mattress. "I was not in bed the first time you stopped by my flat." She sat up again quickly, throwing her brown curly hair out of her face. "What are you doing here? Has Melanie already figured out where I am?"

"No," Constantine said with his arms crossed over his chest. "Dumbledore sent me."

"Why?" Magdalene asked suspiciously.

"He wishes you to go to St. Mungo's," Constantine said dryly, as if he had better things to do then be a message-boy for Albus Dumbledore. Honestly, he probably did, Magdalene thought.

"Why?"

Magdalene stood up from the bed and fixed her shirt, which was askew from lying on the bed. Constantine stood up straight and looked her over. His dark eyes wandered over her body and stopped for a moment on her breast before they met her glaring gaze. He frowned as he stepped towards her.

"You haven't fed," he whispered in a voice so low and sexy Magdalene could barely hear him.

"No," she said crossly. "I'm just glaring at you because you were starting at my breasts—"

"They're very nice breasts," Constantine interrupted with a charming smile. His cheek only encouraged Magdalene's glare, which caused him to frown slightly. "Your eyes are dilating and turning silver."

"Again, because you're staring at me like I'm a piece of meat."

"You've never looked me over like that?" he questioned as he grew even closer to her. "Like the night you barged into my penthouse, bloodied up and cut to ribbons."

"I wasn't cut to ribbons until I landed on your glass coffee table."

"Well that's not my fault."

Constantine was standing right in front of Magdalene now. If she backed up to move away form him she'd trip over the mattress and fall back on it….maybe that was his plan. She glared at him more fiercely, wishing he'd light on fire in that precise moment.

"You were checking me out that night," Constantine smirked.

"What does Dumbledore want at St. Mungo's?"

"Well, there's a blood bank there. You should get some—"

"Constantine," Magdalene snipped.

"Lily went into labor," Constantine said with a serious tone.

"What?"

Magdalene made to dive by him, heading straight for the door, but Constantine stopped her, holding her arms tightly in his large hands. She looked up at him bewildered.

"Let go of me," she insisted as she squirmed in his grasp.

"The labor was fast," he said. "Harry has been born, but if you go there hungry you will surely cause a scene."

"I'll cause a scene now if you do not let go of me," she hissed.

Constantine released her, causing her to loose her footing and fall back. She regained her balance easily; as she stood up straight, glaring at him, she threw her hair out of her face.

"Will you take some blood before you go?"

Magdalene hesitated as she crossed her arms over her chest. She studied Constantine, looking for a sign of betrayal, but there was nothing. He looked calm and reserved.

"How did you find me?"

Constantine smiled. "I didn't. Sirius did."

"Sirius?"

"He's at St. Mungo's," Constantine nodded. "But he did not wish to come and get you, so Dumbledore asked if I would go. Sirius seems to think that we are on good speaking terms."

"He thinks you're screwing me."

Constantine laughed loudly and shook his head. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "As if that would ever happen," he sighed as he sank down onto Magdalene's new mattress. He waved her to come to him. "Please, let me give you some energy."

"I do not want anything from you."

"Maggie," he sighed her nickname, which lit a fire of anger in her center. "When you go into that hospital, you're going to pick up every thought and emotion around you because you have less control over your powers when you're hungry. You're going to smell the blood in the blood bank, the blood pumping through all the mortals—and then when you enter the ward where Lily is surrounded by her baby and many others you're going to smell their blood. Nothing is more pure, strong or tempting as baby's blood, so please, for the sake of us all, take my damn blood."

Magdalene put her hands on her hips and gave him the ugliest look she could muster with her silver eyes. It didn't seem to phase Constantine though. Perhaps he had been on the receiving end of worst stares then Magdalene Markus'. She marched forward and pushed him over with the heel of her boot on his shoulder. Once he was lying flat on the bed, she straddled him, trying very hard not to punch the dark, handsome, smirking smile he was wearing off his face. He playfully bucked his hips up against hers as she laid on him, kissing him deeply on the lips. His arms wrapped around her, rubbing her back and butt carefully, waiting with high anticipation of what she was about to do.

She ran her fingers through his hair while her lips kissed along his jaw line to his ear.

"Something about you makes me hungry," she whispered. Constantine moaned underneath her and kissed her exposed neck in return. His hands continued to run up and down her body, teasing her skin as he pushed her shirt up.

"I just get under your skin," he replied. "Make you want it."

Magdalene kissed his neck, and licked his skin, preparing it for the bite she was about to take.

"Are you sure I should take it?" she said carefully.

Constantine's hands left her body and found hers, above his head, he took them as he looked into her silver eyes with his deep dark forest green ones.

"Take it," he whispered giving her hands a squeeze. Magdalene smiled and laid her head down in the crook of his neck. She kissed his flesh again as her fangs slid forward in her mouth. Without another moment of hesitation she bit down into Constantine's neck, carefully break his skin and opening her mouth to the rich magical blood that flowed in his body.

His hot blood washed into her mouth, tickling the taste buds on her tongue. She lapped for his blood, drinking it quickly. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was until then. Constantine's blood tasted wonderful; better then any blood Magdalene had ever tasted. As she drank it, letting it fill her system, her mind was overrun with his memories.

_She was lying in a king size bed, in a mess of royal looking sheets; over-sized pillows, rich, fluffy comforters and blankets sprawled around her body. She felt surprised to find herself alone in the big bed. She rolled onto the other side, wondering if her partner was just hidden beneath the sheets, but the bed was empty. She sat up and shoved the sheets off of her body when something on the bedside table caught her eye. She laid on her chest, stretching across the bed for the shiny token that sat on the bedside table. She picked up the engagement ring with disappointment. There was a small note, which had been under the ring, on the table. She lifted that next and a hole formed in her heart…_

Magdalene pulled away and took a slow breath. She glanced at Constantine, who was passed out under her in a fragile sleep, his hands were still clutching hers. She sighed with some relief. He wouldn't know what she had witnessed. She leaned down and licked the blood that was rolling down his skin onto the mattress. As she sucked on the last drops of blood, and kissed his neck, she felt him stir under her body. She sat up on him, straddling his waist, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Constantine sat up, his arms immediately wrapped around Magdalene's body.

"Was that as enjoyable for me as it was for you?" he whispered.

"More so, I would imagine."

"You're still in a temper," he said carefully as he leaned forward, closing his eyes, to kiss her collarbone.

"You seducing me will not change that temper."

She stood up off him and fixed her shirt again. Constantine stood up behind her, standing close in her personal space, and quickly stole a kiss from her luscious lips. Magdalene pushed him away with a heavy sigh.

"Sirius was right about you," she said softly while turning to the bedroom door.

"Right about me in what way?"

"You do have feelings for me."

"Yes," Constantine conceded. "Lustful feelings."

Magdalene smirked over her shoulder at him then proceeded to leave the room. If only it were that simple, she thought. Her mind wandered for a few moments as she recalled the scene she had witnessed from Constantine's memory. He had been dumped when he was engaged. Magdalene wondered who the woman was; who could have possibly been so worthy of all of Constantine's love that he would want to marry her?

"Her name was Samantha," he said easily as Magdalene opened the door of the apartment. She paused and looked at him. He was frowning; standing behind her with his hands in his pockets and looking to the ground. He raised one of his hands and rubbed the back of his neck, as if to comfort himself. Magdalene rolled her eyes with discomfort. She didn't want to be Constantine's therapist right then.

"Why did you she leave?"

"I don't know," Constantine said. "That's the worse part."

He moved past her into the hall and down the stairwell that led to the street outside the liquor store. Magdalene frowned and heaved a sigh as she followed Constantine from the dingy flat. Why did he have to be so dramatic?

"Are you coming with me to St. Mungo's?" she questioned when she arrived on the busy street where Constantine was waiting for her.

"Dumbledore would like me to escort you."

Magdalene rolled her eyes. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of."

"Trust me, there are better things I have to be doing with my time then babysitting your fine ass all over the city," Constantine said honestly. "But, if something were to happen to you before you got to St. Mungo's, not only with Dumbledore have it out for me, Mother will as well."

"Oh really? Octavia has ordered you to protect me?"

"I'm starting to think she wants me to get killed. If anyone from Melanie's clan sees me with you I'll be wanted just as much as you are."

I smiled at him. "Can't trust your own Mother?"

"Can't trust anyone who is undead."

Magdalene gave him a pouting smile, pretending to be offended. "Right," Constantine said with sarcasm. "Because of all the vampires in the world, you're the one I can definitely trust."

"I came to you when I was injured, that has to mean something to you," Magdalene joked.

"It just means that you're more trusting then I am, love," Constantine said as they turned a corner.

Magdalene rolled her eyes, but accepted Constantine's point. For a brief moment, she wondered how much she could trust him as they walked down the street next to each other. She was ambivalent towards him. She trusted him enough not to kill him on the spot, to go to him when she was injured, and to take his blood, but in the back of her head she was constantly questioning him. Who's side was he on? It was just easier to trust the fact that Constantine was loyal to only himself. That would save her a lot of trouble if she believed that.

When they arrived outside the street entrance to St. Mungo's—an old abandoned shopping mall—Constantine paused in the street and bowed to Magdalene.

"I have delivered you to your destination," he said. "Unharmed and ready for the fight that no doubt awaits you."

"Fight?" Magdalene questioned with raised eyebrows. She quickly realized that Constantine was referring to the argument that would most likely ensue when she saw Sirius. "You're not brave enough to face him with me?"

"It's not a question of bravery, my dear Maggie," Constantine smiled as he leaned close to her. "It's simply not my fight."

Magdalene put her hands on Constantine's chest to stop him from advancing on her. He laughed and stepped away.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon."

Without another word, or even a good-bye from her, he turned on his heel and disappeared down the crowded Muggle street. Magdalene released the breath she was holding onto. She sighed and turned, stepping into the broken window of the shopping mall displays. She moved behind the mannequins, which was probably a sight from the street, but no one seemed to care to watch her. She pulled on the mannequin's arm and a door opened to the far left corner of the display. Magdalene didn't waste anytime, she quickly moved to the door and disappeared through it.

Inside St. Mungo's Magdalene found herself overwhelmed by the amount of people and activity. She closed her mind off to the overpowering number of thoughts and emotions that were bombarding her system. She made a beeline for the front desk in the waiting room and asked where Lily Potter's room was.

The witch behind the desk was giving her trouble when someone touched her shoulder to draw her attention. Magdalene jumped, startled by the stranger, and turned with her arms raised, ready to strike the person like they were attacking her.

"Little jumpy, aren't we?" Remus Lupin said with a beaming smile.

Magdalene threw her arms around him with pleasure.

"Remus, I'm so sorry," she said pulling away to look him in the eye. "I've just been…"

"I know," Remus said with an all knowing look. Magdalene wasn't sure how he knew about the trouble she was in, but she had to assume that it was Sirius who had given her away. She frowned. Who was she kidding? The entire Order knew the kind of trouble she was in.

"Is everything alright?" Magdalene said taking hold of Remus' arm as he led her through the crowded waiting room towards the doors that lead to the private wards. He smiled at her.

"Yes," he said. "Lily and Harry are doing well. James is a little overwhelmed, but excited and happy. Sirius is thrilled."

"I'm sure he is," Magdalene whispered.

Remus glanced at her with caring eyes. "He's trying his best, Mags."

She frowned, despite Remus calling her by the nickname he had made for her when they first started dating. "I know," she admitted. "I just feel he is the same now as he was in school…and he tore me to pieces then. I'm not interested in playing those back-and-forth games. I'd rather be alone then with someone who hurts me constantly."

"He hurts you as much as you hurt him."

Magdalene gave Remus a scandalized look. "I have stuck to my feelings. I decided I didn't want something serious. I care about Sirius and I enjoy his company. I'm perfectly fine in a casual relationship. He's the one who has changed his mind…one day he's fine with it, the next he loves me and wants more…"

"He never said he wanted more."

"He's jealous of nothing," Magdalene said easily. "Just like he was jealous when we were together."

"Mags," Remus said with a laugh. "That was a long time ago and he had every right to be jealous. We were in a relationship and he wanted to be with you."

Magdalene sighed with annoyance. "That's no man I want to be with."

Remus bowed his head in understanding as he patted her hand that rested on his elbow. "Then you have made your decision and you should tell Sirius that."

Magdalene heaved a heavy sigh. She wasn't sure how to tell Sirius that—especially after everything they had went through when he found her a few months ago. Maybe it wasn't right of her to accuse Sirius of confusing his actual feelings with the feelings created by their covenant-bond.

"He's still here?" Magdalene asked uneasily.

"Yes," Remus replied as he stopped outside a ward door. "Harry is his godson. He's very excited."

"Of course he is," Magdalene forced a smile. "Despite the play-boy appearance he puts up, Sirius is very much a family man. I know he wants a family."

"Because he told you or because of your connection?"

"He didn't have to tell me. And I didn't have to rely on our connection to know that."

Remus gave Magdalene a light smile. He stroked her cheek and leaned forward, kissing her forehead, trying to comfort her.

"It will be fine, Remus," Magdalene said mostly to comfort herself. "I just have to focus on everything that is right in front of me. Melanie, Octavia, Constantine and Voldemort. I don't have time to be distracted or carry baggage."

"Is that how you view him?"

"I just mean that I have a lot of shit on my plate right now. I'm kind of on the run. Having a boyfriend doesn't make it easier."

"It could," he said softly. "Having someone with you, to support you."

"Sirius isn't really being very supportive right now," Magdalene said.

"There you are," said James opening the ward door and poking his head out. Remus frowned as he put his hands in his pockets. Magdalene stood up straight and gave James a weak smile. "Lily has been getting restless for you."

"Of course," Magdalene said stepping forward into the room as James opened the door. She went straight to the bed, where Lily was lying holding her newborn son. Magdalene's insides turned uneasily. She wasn't sure how she felt about babies. She approached the bed slowly. Lily's green eyes beamed.

"Magdalene!" she said with happiness. "I'm so happy you're here."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get here," Magdalene said as James closed the door behind Remus. "Constantine and I got hung up."

"I'm sure," Sirius muttered under his breath. He was standing next to the bed, looking over Lily's shoulder at Harry. He was brushing his godson's hair gently. Magdalene gave him a dark glare that could melt flesh. He moved away from the bed, towards James as Magdalene came to Lily's side.

"Here, meet your godson—" Lily extended Harry James Potter, the small boy in her arms, to Magdalene who took a seat on the side of the bed.

"I thought we discussed this," Magdalene said lightly. "Lily…I can't be Harry's godmother—I'm a vampire."

The boy was in her arms without warning. She frowned and held him unsteadily.

"Don't be ridiculous," Lily beamed as she helped support Harry in Magdalene's arm. The boy was tightly wrapped in a swaddle blanket, which Magdalene was thankful for. She could not imagine trying to hold him as he squirmed around uncomfortably in her arms. "That means nothing."

"Actually, it means a lot," Magdalene said quickly. The boy was sleeping in her hands.

"You're holding him perfectly fine. You'll get the hang of it," Lily smiled. "Please, Maggie, I need you to do this for me."

Magdalene frowned. "No," she said firmly. "I'm sorry, Lily. I can't. And I'm thinking of all of you when I say that. I am a vampire—if I'm hungry at all…I don't even want to think…and I'm wanted dead by my kind. I'm too much of a target. I'm not safe and I can't put you or your son at risk."

Lily frowned but nodded her head as she sat back on the bed.

"It will be alright," James said. "Sirius will be enough."

Lily forced a smile, but said nothing. Magdalene felt very guilty as she sat next to her best friend with the boy in her arms. She cringed slightly because she could smell his blood, pumping through his tiny body. Constantine had been right; babies' fresh blood smelled the most enticing.

"Lily, take your son," Magdalene said uneasily. She handed the baby to Lily very quickly and stood up from the bed. "I'm sorry. I'm…I'm just a little hungry and I need…I need to go."

Magdalene tore her eyes away from Harry and Lily and turned, quickly on her heel, making her way for the ward door. She ran straight into Sirius, who caught her around the waist as they collided.

"I'll go with you," he whispered.

"No," Magdalene shook her head. "No…I just need to go."

She slipped out of Sirius' arms and left the ward without another word. She crossed her arms over her chest as she marched out of St. Mungo's. Shame was overwhelming her system. She wasn't sure what was the matter with her. She had been over come with hunger just by looking at the baby; that wasn't right—she had just fed. She should not be hungry like that. She frowned deeply when she thought of what Constantine had said.

When she arrived at home, she paced in her empty living room. She wasn't hungry anymore, which meant that being around Harry had made her hungry. Just like Constantine said it would. Magdalene stopped in the middle of the room to pick up a broken Muggle lamp that lay uselessly on the floor. She hurled it against the wall while letting out a frustrated yell.

"Whoa," said a voice.

Magdalene stopped dead, turned on her heel to the face the door, with burning silver eyes. Sirius stood before her in the doorframe. When he saw her violent gaze he stepped into the flat and closed the door tightly behind him.

"Aren't you hot?" he asked. "It's the middle of summer and you're wearing a leather coat in this stuffy apartment."

"I don't feel the heat," Magdalene snarled as she unzipped her coat and tore it off. "If I went outside without the coat people would see this—" she motioned to her arms covered in scars. "—and they'd looked at me like I'm the monster who did this to myself."

"Maggie, what's going on?" Sirius whispered with concern as he approached her. "Why'd you run out of St. Mungo's like a bat out of hell?"

"I was hungry," she retorted.

"So, leaving a medical center stocked with blood makes sense," Sirius said sarcastically.

"Don't make me throw shit at you," Magdalene said viciously while pointing at Sirius and putting all of her weight on one hip so it stuck out as she stood in front of him.

"Do what you want," he shrugged as he grabbed her hips and pulled her close to him. He kissed her fiercely on the lips, causing her to pull away and smack him. "Do you want my blood or not?"

Magdalene frowned. She stepped back towards Sirius and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He immediately kissed her back as his hands found her waist. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, allowing her to wrap her legs around his center while a moan escaped her lips. She moved her mouth to his ear and neck, kissing tenderly, as Sirius began to walk down the hall towards the bedroom. When he arrived, he threw Magdalene on the mattress. She laughed lightly and threw her hair out of her face as Sirius pulled off his tee shirt and kicked off his shoes. He crawled on top of her and they continued their erotic make out session.

As Sirius kissed and playfully bit Magdalene's shoulders and neck she ran her nails across his back, making him moan into her flesh. He rolled over, pulling her body on top of his and kissed her sweetly on the lips. She sat up, with her hands on his chest, as her body straddled his and smiled down at him with gleaming silver eyes. Carefully, she laid her body against his, and much like she had with Constantine, kissed his neck to ease his anticipation. Sirius' arms were wrapped around her tightly and as Magdalene sunk her pointed fangs into his neck a breath escaped his lips. His rich magical blood flooded Magdalene's mouth, electrifying her with a new found energy. She drank eager, hungrier then she had realized, and had to remind herself to take just what she needed.

As Sirius' memories flooded her mind she pulled her mouth away from his neck. She rolled her body off of him as he slept and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. She watched the blood roll down his neck as she waited for him to wake. It did not take long. Once Sirius' eyes opened from his short sleep, he instantly rolled onto Magdalene and pressed his body down on hers. Magdalene did not ask any questions as his lips found hers and they continued to kiss in each other's arms…but, there were so many questions to ask.


	10. Kill the Covenant

Rain was pouring down from the grayscale sky lightly, misting the streets of London with a glooming mood. Magdalene walked through most of the rainstorm. By the time she arrived on the Potter's porch, she was drenched in her wet clothing. She knocked on the front door of the small house and, while she waited for someone to open the door, rung out the baggy cotton tee shirt she was wearing.

"Who is it?" a quiet female voice could be heard on the other side of the door. Magdalene looked up, pushed her wet hair out of her face, and stepped closer to the door.

"Magdalene Markus."

"Maggie," Lily sounded surprised. "When we were at Hogwarts, you had a dream about this man before he appeared in the dinning hall that same day."

"Demetrius," Magdalene replied without having to think. She frowned and bit her lips as her hand subconsciously clutched the pendent around her neck. She rolled the diamond made from Demetrius' ashes in between her fingers.

"Now you," Lily said.

Magdalene frowned. "Who is the godmother of your child?"

"I don't have one because you turned me down," Lily replied coldly. Magdalene didn't let the answer phase her, despite Lily's obviously perturbed tone.

"Correct," Magdalene said lowly.

The door opened instantly and Lily Evans Potter stared at Magdalene with dark green, angry, eyes. Her brownish red bushy hair was flying around her young pale face in vibrant curls. She looked relaxed in her comfortable black pants and tank top. Despite the comfy clothing she wore, there was no mistaking the lividness of her body and face. Not that Magdalene needed physical cues to notice Lily's irritation; she could feel every raging emotion Lily was feeling thanks to her empathic abilities.

Why could she feel Lily's emotions with no trouble, but Sirius was an emotionally blocked stronghold to her? There was a time when she could read even him…now he was a mystery and she didn't like that.

Magdalene stood up straight and tucked her wet hair behind her ear again.

"What are you doing here?" Lily questioned before Magdalene could speak. She sighed slightly and rung her dripping hair out on the Potter's porch. She did not ask to come in.

"Just wanted to say hi," she said slowly.

"You have a lot of nerve Magdalene!" Lily continued as if Magdalene hadn't said anything at all. "A lot of bloody cheek, showing up here now after you refused to be Harry's godmother and ran out of the room at the mere sight of him!"

Lily was standing boldly in the doorframe, her hands on her hips as she glared lividly at her best friend. Magdalene bit her bottom lip. She had anticipated this reaction from Lily. She had considered not coming to see her in hopes of avoiding such an aggressive confrontation. It took all of Magdalene's power to not let Lily's emotions get the best of her as she picked them up with her empathic radar. Her fist were clenched tightly while she looked her friend in the eye.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was overcome with hunger. I thought I had enough blood in me before I left my flat, but when I got there….and young blood is the most potent, the most delicious. I had to leave. I had to for Harry's safety and everyone else's. This supports my decision to decline being Harry's godmother. It would be wise for you to choose someone else, Lily."

"Can I ever trust you around Harry then?" Lily questioned with alarm. "Can you be near him without hunger overcoming you?"

Magdalene smirked at her friend. She was pleased that Lily was starting to realize what everyone else seemed to want to ignore. Magdalene was a danger to them, even if she was well controlled and fed.

"Yes," she replied. "I was rash and weak when I came to the hospital yesterday. Today I am well fed and strong. I have learned that I cannot take my feedings lightly."

Lily frowned as she looked Magdalene, who was still ringing out her hair, over. "You look like bloody hell," Lily sighed. "Come in before you catch a cold."

The comment made Magdalene laugh. "I'm a vampire. I can't feel the cold and I can't get sick."

Lily nodded her head slowly, not eased by Magdalene's comment, as she shut the front door.

"I'm sorry for calling unexpectedly," Magdalene apologized. "And I appreciate you letting me in."

"Of course," Lily said motioning for Magdalene to follow her back into the kitchen at the back of the house. "Maggie, you're my best friend. I'm angry with you, but I understand where you're coming from. I will never close my door to you."

"Thank you," Magdalene couldn't help but smile. She could feel Lily's rage starting to diminish, which allowed her to relax as they entered the kitchen.

"I know you didn't just come out here to apologize," Lily said wisely, as she looked Magdalene over. She took a seat at the kitchen table where a dishtowel lay flat, covered in wet baby bottles, nipples, and screw tops. Lily picked up another towel and began to dry the baby feeding utensils as she looked up at Magdalene, waiting for her to join her and spill.

Magdalene gave in to Lily's piercing studying stare easily. She collapsed down into a kitchen chair across from the young, new mother and sighed loudly.

"Sirius and I had sex last night," she said instantly. Lily stopped drying the bottle in her hand for a moment to stare blankly at Magdalene. After a moment of silence and awkward staring, Lily reverted her eyes and continued to dry the bottle in the dishtowel.

"You're together," she shrugged, though Magdalene could feel her surprise across the table.

"Not really," Magdalene said quickly. "I mean, we were, but then he shouted he loved me in a crowded street after arguing because he thinks I'm messing around with Constantine and we didn't talk for weeks. He's a jealous bastard, just like he was in school, and I can't handle his back and forth—one day he likes me, the next he hates me because I went to Constantine, then out of the blue he shows up and screws me!"

Lily remained quite once Magdalene was done ranting. Magdalene could see the wheels of her brain turning through her eyes. Lily was going to be logical, rational, and that's exactly what Magdalene needed right then because she felt completely lost and confused. Never had she been so torn apart and throttled around by a man. Sirius made her absolutely crazy, not even Demetrius had managed to screw with her head and heart this badly.

"If you don't want to be with him, why'd you have sex with him?"

"It felt good," Magdalene shrugged with ease.

"Where is Sirius now?"

"He's still in bed, in my flat. But, Lily, what am I supposed to do? I don't think I want to be with him."

"You think or you know?"

Magdalene sat up straight while frowning. She didn't know. She was just as unsure as Sirius was. With aggravation, Magdalene released a loud sigh and laid her head on the kitchen table.

"I'm no better then him," she whispered.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to realize that."

Magdalene gave Lily a dirty look, which caused Lily to laugh and shake her head. There was a loud knock on the front door, causing both women to fall silent. Lily stood up from the table and picked up her wand as she moved down the hall towards the foyer. Magdalene followed carefully.

"Who is it?" Lily asked as her hand gripped the doorknob with white knuckles.

"Sirius Orion Black," Sirius' voice spoke from the other side of the front door. Magdalene's heart dropped into her stomach with embarrassment. Lily looked at Magdalene over her shoulder. Magdalene closed her eyes and lifted her hand, motioning for Lily to wait a moment.

Sirius' emotions were sporadic and difficult to get a hold on. Magdalene squinted her eyes tightly shut and tilted her head to the side. He was anxious, tired, confused, happy—she just couldn't tell anything. She opened her eyes wide with bewilderment.

Lily sighed, recognizing that Magdalene wasn't sure who was on the doorstep, and turned back to the door.

"Sirius, who's Covenant are you?"

"Magdalene Markus'," Sirius replied.

Lily opened the door quickly. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she said.

"It's alright," Sirius said as he moved into the house. His dark blue eyes fell on Magdalene in the foyer and he instantly frowned. "There you are. I assumed you went out to get blood."

"I don't hunt," Magdalene retorted.

"Yea," Sirius frowned. "I know that."

Lily closed the front door and crossed her arms over her chest. "Did you come to see James, Sirius?"

"Yea," Sirius said as he pulled his eyes away from Magdalene. "I just wanted to talk to him…and see my godson!" He added the last part quickly with excitement.

"They're upstairs," Lily motioned to the staircase.

"Thanks," Sirius clapped her shoulder gently. He looked back at Magdalene with intense, sexually hungry, eyes. He moved between the two women, coming especially close to Magdalene's body. His fingers traced against her flesh just above the waistband of her pants and he paused for a moment, leaning in close to her ear. "Good morning," he whispered huskily in her ear.

Magdalene couldn't help but smile. "Hi," she said in response. Sirius smiled a crooked half smile and kissed her neck gently before moving away completely to the stairs. Magdalene released a heavy sigh as he walked away. Once Sirius had disappeared up the stairs, she looked at Lily who was staring at her like she was a stupid disobedient child. Lily eyebrows were high over her emerald eyes and her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her weight was shifted on one hip.

"Yea," Lily said with a laugh. "You definitely don't know." Lily passed Magdalene, heading back to the kitchen and the bottles that were waiting to be dried.

"Shut up," Magdalene said turning on her heel to follow her best friend.

Once she was sitting again, Magdalene uneasily tapped her fingers against the table. Lily looked at her with curious eyes.

"What is it now?"

"I should be able to read him easily because he's my Covenant," Magdalene whispered. "The fact that I can't read Sirius is concerning to me."

"Maybe he's just gotten strong enough to block you," Lily shrugged.

"I don't think you can block a covenant bond, but I don't know for sure."

"Who would?"

Magdalene frowned and bit her bottom lip. "Constantine probably. Or there might be some information in the library at Palazzo del Te."

"Do you think it wise to ask Constantine?"

"He's the only vampire I can really trust for anything right now."

"Doesn't he want you dead?"

"Not yet," Magdalene said weakly. She looked up at Lily with a sad expression.

"I don't trust him," Lily said strongly to contrast Magdalene's tone. Magdalene rolled her eyes.

"Rightfully so," she agreed. "But when it comes to vampire and blood laws I can trust that he'll know them."

"So, you're going to go see him?"

Magdalene looked up at the ceiling over her head, as if she could see through it to Sirius. She frowned and looked back at Lily.

"Yes," she whispered. "I'm going to go now."

"Don't you think you should talk to Sirius first? Maybe he'll be able to tell you why you can't read him as well as you'd like."

Magdalene rolled her eyes as she stood up. "He wouldn't know."

"I don't know," Lily whispered matter-of-factly. "He knows more then you give him credit for."

"I just want to do some research first," Magdalene said sharply. "Then I'll talk to him. Don't tell him where I went."

"What?" Lily questioned quickly. "What am I supposed to say?"

_Sirius,_ Magdalene thought as she shut her eyes.

Within a moment the sound of a door opening and closing upstairs could be heard, then the sound of people descending the stairs and male voices talking echoed.

"You called?" Sirius smiled as he came into the kitchen. James followed in behind him, carrying a sleeping Harry. Magdalene's green eyes looked at James and his son for only a moment as they walked by her. She immediately turned her gaze back to Sirius who had stopped to stand in front of her.

Magdalene looked him over with curious dark eyes. He was wearing jeans and a black cotton tee shirt, much like Magdalene was that morning. He came to her, putting his rough hands on her hips and smiling down at her. She took hold of his muscular forearms and arched her back away from him, looking up at him with raised eyebrows.

"I'm going to see Constantine," she said easily. "And then to Palazzo del Te to get some blood."

It was half a lie. Magdalene hadn't told anyone that the blood, stored in the basement of Palazzo del Te, had been stolen. But, Sirius didn't need to know that now.

Sirius nodded and leaned in to her, kissing her forehead.

"You don't have to lie, you know," he whispered. Magdalene pulled away sharply and looked up at Sirius with surprise.

"What the hell is going on?" she questioned sharply. Sirius laughed.

"I can tell when you're lying, Maggie," he shrugged.

"Most of us can," Lily said quietly as she held out her arms and James passed Harry to her. Her face brightened as her eyes fell on her son.

"Your voice changes," James chimed in.

"It does not," Magdalene said confidently.

"Sure," Sirius smiled. "Go. See Constantine. Go to Palazzo del Te."

Magdalene looked up at his pleasant, even loving face, with deep bewilderment. It was like Sirius was two different people. Yesterday, when she had first seen him at the hospital he had been hostile and now he was charming.

"Are you bipolar?"

Sirius laughed loudly.

"I'm being serious," Magdalene insisted.

"Nope," he said. "Just torn apart and throttled around by a woman who drives me absolutely crazy."

Magdalene couldn't help but smile. "You really are getting good at that," she said referring to his ability to read her mind.

"We share a strong connection, Maggie," Sirius whispered as he leaned in and kissed her lips delicately. She kissed him in return, despite the confusing emotions she felt towards him. Once, Magdalene was clear and collected, but with Sirius she was confused and lost. She needed to figure out how to be clear and collected again…perhaps that is why she felt she need to not be with Sirius. She was better off alone.

She pulled out of Sirius' arms and gave him a reassuring smile. He seemed to know that she was trying to reassure herself more then anything else because he kissed her forehead again and told her to be safe quietly in her ear. She thanked him and moved away, bidding good-bye to Lily and James.

Outside on the Potter's front porch, which was protected from the slow falling rain, Magdalene merely thought of Constantine's penthouse flat and she was gone with the blink of an eye. She teleported to his front door, figuring it would be rude of her to bust in and possibly break his coffee table again. She knocked gently on the dark wooden door and waited patiently for someone to answer. When the door flew open she was surprised to see a half naked young woman in the doorframe.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked. She was a blonde-bombshell, with pouting cranberry red lips and white porcelain skin. She was wearing a skin tight, white tank top and hot pink lace underwear. Magdalene tried not to stare, instead she looked up at the door to see what number she had knocked on.

"This is Constantine's place, right?" she questioned. "I didn't get the wrong door…"

"This is his place," the woman responded, as she stood up straighter, her almond shaped brown eyes looking Magdalene over. "Who are you?"

"Maggie," said Constantine's voice with mild amusement as he approached the door, coming to standing behind the young woman. Magdalene looked at him with raised eyebrows, wide eyes and a forced smile. He was only wearing black cotton pajama bottoms. His handsome muscular figure looked tenses and tanned. Magdalene tried with all her might to not stare at his chiseled physic, or attractive face. She focused on his eyes. His masterful, dark, warming brown eyes, which made her just as hot as his body and face. She bit her bottom lip, trying to stay focused on what she had come to see him about.

Constantine placed his hands on the back of the woman's hips as he peered at Magdalene with chocolate brown, debonair eyes. The young woman seemed to forget that Magdalene was standing in front of her and looked up at Constantine with batting, desire filled eyes.

"Maggie and I work together," Constantine said to the woman. "Why don't you go lay down…I'll only be a moment."

"Promise?" the woman asked as she turned to Constantine. She stood on her toes while pressing her body against his and kissed his neck playfully. Magdalene looked away awkwardly, and tried not to make a gagging sound because of the woman's comment. Not only was it uncomfortable to see Constantine in such an intimate manner with another woman, but the hot pink panties barely covered her bottom, leaving Magdalene to see the curve where her cheeks met her thighs.

"If it takes longer then a moment, I'll let you tie me up," Constantine replied.

The woman beamed and moved around him quickly, disappearing from sight. Magdalene shuttered and turned to glare at Constantine, who was looking pleased with himself.

"I didn't realize you liked it that way," Magdalene said.

"There are many things you don't realize about me, Maggie," he said softly as he leaned forward in the doorframe of the flat. "What brings you here?"

"Is she a mortal?"

"That's none of your business."

"I know she's not a vampire," Magdalene replied. "Couldn't smell her long enough to tell if she was magical or not."

"It's none of your business," Constantine repeated. "What do you want, Magdalene?"

"I need your help with something."

"I assumed that much. I doubt you'd come here because you wanted to see me."

"I have questions about covenant bonds."

Constantine smirked as he leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his muscular chest. "Sirius giving you trouble? Trying to get out of it?"

"No," Magdalene snipped with aggression. "Can I pull you away from your…" Magdalene didn't know what to call the woman who was now lying in Constantine's bed.

"She's my girlfriend," he said softly.

This caught Magdalene off guard. "What?"

Constantine laughed while shaking his head and stood up straight. "I'll tell her we have to go into the office. Just give me a second…"

He stood up straight and closed the door in Magdalene's face before she could say another word. His words were still ringing in her ears because she could not believe them. She never thought that Constantine would be the type to settle down with a girlfriend. He struck her more as the womanizing, different flavor each week, type of man. It was unfair of her to think such things, though. She obviously did not know Constantine well, and she should have been more mature to not prejudge him and his capacity to have personal intimate relationships.

Magdalene paced up and down the hallway outside the penthouse, wondering what could possibly be taking so long. She waited at least twenty minutes before Constantine came out of the flat, swaggering in his fine clothing and charming smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said lightly as he shut the door. "She just won't let me leave sometimes."

"I don't want to know," Magdalene retorted as she made a beeline for the elevator. Constantine laughed behind her. Apparently, seeing Magdalene uncomfortable was amusing to him.

"It is possible for me to have relationships Maggie," he said as they boarded the elevator. "I know that may shock you."

"It only shocks me because I didn't think vampires could love."

"Who said anything about love?" Constantine questioned while pushing the button for the first floor. "Although, wouldn't you describing your relationship with Sirius as a loving one?"

"No. It's volatile."

"Does he see it that way?"

"I think we both have the common consciences that our relationship, whatever it is, is not a committed one with lovey-dovey feelings."

"And yet he says he loves you."

"He's mortal," Magdalene whispered lightly. "He can feel such things."

Constantine looked Magdalene over slowly. She was staring at the lift doors in front of her, trying to ignore the fact that his chocolate brown eyes were taking her in. She knew he was reading her like an open book. It didn't matter how hard she tried to block him; Constantine didn't need to use any mental powers on Magdalene. She felt his concern for her, which was enough to make her sick. She didn't want his worry. And she most certainly didn't think he had anything to worry about in regards to her ability to love someone.

"We can love," Constantine said. "Whoever told you otherwise was just trying to write something off."

Magdalene took a long slow breath. All those years Demetrius had loved her he often said that love was not possible for his kind. In the bottom of her heart, Magdalene always believed it was possible. It had to be because Demetrius loved her. Constantine was right. A vampire saying they were not capable of love was just a way for them to take the easy way out. It was certainly easier to say you're not capable of love then to face the fear of getting hurt by loving someone.

"Why are you afraid of loving him?"

The lift doors opened and Magdalene marched straight forward into the lobby of the penthouse building without saying a word. She left Constantine in the dust as she exited the building.

"Care to tell me where we're going?" he asked as he caught up to her on the sidewalk. She appreciated the fact that he was leaving the subject of loving Sirius in the elevator.

"Palazzo del Te," Magdalene responded turning down into a side alleyway. She paused against some of the trash bins decorating the alley, waiting for Constantine to join her. He turned into the alley and came close to her. Magdalene raised her hand, pressing it against his chest, to stop him from invading her personal space. Her eyes met his, which were looking at her with lustful patients, before she teleported in front of him.

The yard outside Palazzo del Te looked over-grown. Magdalene looked over her shoulder at the broken gate metal gate that stood in the distances. At Palazzo del Te's high point, that gate had gleamed like a bitter prison wall, locking Magdalene onto the grounds from four sides. It was not until she killed her father that she ever went past that gate. To see it broken, destroyed and opened brought mild satisfaction to Magdalene's heart.

The sound of shuffling gravel announced Constantine's arrival. Magdalene turned to look at him as he came to stand next to her. They both stared up at the mansion for a few moments in silence, taking in the busted windows, peeling paint, and moldering brick.

"Why did your Father call this mansion Palazzo del Te?"

Magdalene looked at Constantine. His hands were folded behind his back as he studied her childhood home, not that Magdalene considered it much of a home. That was the last question she was expecting at that moment. She was anticipating him to ask what she needed his help for. She frowned slightly and looked back at the abandoned building before her.

"I do not know," she replied. "Why?"

"I've been to the Palazzo del Te in Italy, and it puts your mansion to shame," he said with a shrug.

"Well, my Father did like tea, so maybe that is why."

Constantine gave her a smile before walking towards the building.

"You know," Magdalene said following him. "I tried to burn it down three years ago. It doesn't even look like I tortured it with my magic."

"That is because Melanie and Janson stopped the fire," Constantine said as he opened the door. He didn't step into the threshold right away; he leaned in and peered around the elegant foyer of the mansion to see if there were any scavengers roaming freely. "I was told they arrived shortly after you left to see their Mother. That is how they found out about your new rise to power so quickly. Pure coincidence."

"Right, coincidence," Magdalene said as Constantine entered the house.

Her eyes glided over the destroy entrance hall. When she had been changed by her grandmother, she had went on a wild rampage and destroyed half of her father's old belongings. At the base of the grand staircase was a large portrait, lying disheveled on the ground, as if it meant nothing. The portrait was of Marius Markus, Magdalene's father. She had pulled the portrait from the wall where it hung over the stairs and threw it down, ripping the handsome face painted on the canvas and cracking the frame.

"What are we doing here?" Constantine asked stopping in the middle of the lavished hall to look at her.

"I wanted to go to the library," she whispered. "I need help with covenant bonds, what you can't tell me, I thought I would find in my father's library."

"What makes you think I can tell you anything?"

Together, they started to ascend the red-carpeted staircase that lead into the depths of Palazzo del Te's twisting hallways.

"Why else would you have come with me? I'm sure you'd rather be in bed with your girlfriend all day."

"She has to work," Constantine said casually.

"Do you mean to tell me you don't know anything about covenant bonds, and you're just here, tagging along?"

"No," Constantine said while Magdalene turned down a wood panel hallway, leading him through towards Markus' old library. When Magdalene reached the library door she hesitated for a moment, gripping the door handle. Her other hand immediately jumped to the diamond hanging around her neck. She twisted Demetrius' preserved remains between her fingers as she took a long breath.

Images of the last time she had stood in the library danced in her head.

_Demetrius jumping in front of her to take a stake through the heart from Ariana Donovan—Demetrius' body falling, convulsing and turning to ash before her eyes—Ariana attacking and changing her—killing Ariana in a newborn-vampiric rage—her grandmother's body convulsing and bursting into flame under her own—compressing Demetrius' ashes into the small rock that now hung around her neck._

"Maggie? Are you alright?"

She looked up at Constantine with silver eyes. He gave her a concerned look, much like the one in the lift, and a half smile.

"If you call me Maggie again, I'll rip your face off," she retorted. She turned the knob and pushed open the library door. As she walked in her mind and emotions were over run with sorrow. The smell of ash lingered in the air and a small pile remained in the center of the room, where Ariana's body had burned.

Constantine walked in like he was familiar with the room. He looked at the pile of ash for a moment before looking to Magdalene, who was staring at it.

"I'm surprised they didn't clean it up," she said softly.

"Most vampires don't clean up ash," he said approaching her slowly. "Very few honor the dead."

He touched the stone around her neck gently, causing her to look up at him with blinking silver eyes.

"Is this why you cannot love Sirius?"

Magdalene rolled her eyes and stepped away from Constantine, heading for a bookshelf. The library walls were lined with books, it was going to take Magdalene a long time to find any sort of book concerning covenants, if there even was one.

"Tell me what you know about covenants," she said moving a step laddered to the farthest cornered and climbing it to the top.

"You should probably look for a book of vampiric law," Constantine advised. Magdalene nodded as she scanned over the books on the top shelf. She looked at Constantine who was looking at Markus' desk. "Is there something specific you want to know?"

"Just tell me everything," Magdalene said. When Constantine didn't answer, Magdalene looked sharply at him. He was standing behind the desk, inspecting the detailed woodwork. "Well?"

He looked up at her and frowned. "Right, sorry."

Magdalene rolled her eyes as he took a seat at the desk, leaned back and put his feet up.

"Covenant bonds are exceptionally rare because a mortal is the one who initiates the ritual. A mortal must willingly give a vampire blood, then they have to mix their blood."

"Yes, I know that."

"How did Sirius become your Covenant when you know nothing of vampiric rituals?"

"It was an accident," Magdalene replied glancing at Constantine. She noticed he was opening the drawers to her father's desk and searching through them. "Sirius gave me blood after finding me at the bottom of a staircase bleeding out. In the hospital wing, he pulled out his IV to hold me in bed. I pulled on my arm, accidentally pulling out my IV and our blood mixed from the opened wounds."

"To achieve such a strong bond on accident," Constantine gave a low whistle. "It's astonishing. Most of the time covenant bonds don't fully work because the vampire tricks the mortal into them. You and Sirius probably have the most pure of covenant bonds then."

"Why do you say that? I was a half breed when the bond was created, how can that be pure?"

"The bond was created out of love," Constantine said honestly. "Sirius willingly gave his blood to save you, and he comforted you after the trauma. There is no purer form of the covenant bond."

Magdalene sighed and looked back at the books in front of her, at least they weren't telling her that Sirius _did_ love her.

"What else?" Magdalene asked to keep Constantine on track.

"The only way to break a covenant bond on the mortal plane is for the vampire to kill the Covenant, but in death they will reunite. This bond is to be cherished and keep sacred, otherwise it does not survive and can become detrimental to both parties involved."

This caught Magdalene's attention. She had overheard all of the facts years ago as Demetrius and Dumbledore spoke in her ward at St. Mungo's, but she had never that the bond could become detrimental. She stepped down off the ladder and moved towards Constantine.

"What do you mean detrimental?"

"I mean that the bond becomes more of a burden."

"It's been a burden from the start," Magdalene muttered. "How should covenant bonds be cherished?"

"They should be celebrated and honored," Constantine continued. "Both parties should be close and honor each other. It is comparable to the mortal notion of marriage."

"Demetrius said it wasn't—"

"Is that who's ashes are hanging around your neck?"

Magdalene's eyes had relaxed from being silver as she looked at the books on the shelf, but when Constantine mentioned Demetrius' remains again, they changed drastically. Constantine sat back in the chair, smirking at her because he knew he touched a nerve.

"Alright, we don't have to talk about that."

"I wasn't going to talk about that," she snipped. "You're not my therapist, Constantine."

"Sometimes it feels like it."

Magdalene growled in frustration and moved away from the desk, heading back to the bookshelf just to get away from Constantine.

"What happens when the bond is neglected?"

"The relationship becomes ambiguous, confusing," Constantine shrugged. "The mortal can gain more mental and physical powers and drain the vampire of their own. Overtime the bond can be destroyed because the mortal is literally sucking the life and power out of the vampire."

Magdalene stopped dead at the base of the ladder and turned sharply to Constantine.

"What?"

Constantine stood up from his chair as Magdalene moved back to the desk.

"Has this been happening?" he questioned approaching her. Magdalene didn't answer right away, or look at him. Her mind was racing with his words connecting the dots. She hadn't been able to read Sirius at all, but he was always able to read her and find her. She had even started requiring more blood recently and losing control of her physical powers.

Constantine lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"It's been happening over the last few weeks," she whispered. "Since Sirius came to get me at your flat and we had our falling out."

Constantine frowned deeply as he nodded his head. There was deeper worry in his eyes that alarmed Magdalene.

"How do I fix it?" He didn't answer right away, causing Magdalene to grab the collar of his fine coat. "Constantine?"

"The only way to save your powers and life is to kill your Covenant," he replied. "Killing the Covenant destroys the bond."

Magdalene released Constantine's coat and stepped away in shock. Her stomach rolled and she felt the sudden desire to vomit.

"Magdalene, you have to kill Sirius Black," Constantine whispered sadly.


	11. Fool's Trust

"There has to be a way to fix the bond without destroying it," Magdalene insisted as she sat on the ottoman in front of a leather armchair in the library. Her elbows were resting on her knees, and her head in her hands.

"Not that I'm aware of, Magdalene. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" she looked up at Constantine who was leaning against her father's old oak desk. "_You're sorry?_ You just told me the only way I can survive is if I kill Sirius Black—not only a very good friend of mine, but a man that I have multiple complex feelings for. Sorry does not fix the problem, Constantine. Right now, I need you to tell me how to fix the problem!"

"I don't know how else to fix the problem, Magdalene," Constantine said sharply because Magdalene was becoming more aggressive with each of her words. "That is the only way I know of in vampiric law. Maybe you should try to mend the bond. That is what is broken after all. How long were you and Sirius apart?"

"Nearly three years," Magdalene whispered.

"Magdalene," Constantine said softly with disappointment.

"I didn't know!" Magdalene jumped up in anger. "How the hell was I supposed to know! I thought I was keeping everyone safe by staying away! And they'd probably be a lot safer if I am dead anyways."

"You're not going to die," Constantine said coming to her. She looked up at him with confusion as he stopped directly in front of her, close enough to lean in a kiss her.

"Why? Because your Mother doesn't want me to?"

There was sarcasm on her tongue as she spoke.

"No," he said slowly. "I'm fairly certain she's indifferent to your existence."

"Thank you."

"My point, Magdalene is that we'll figure this out. I want you to go talk to Dumbledore and I'm going to talk to Octavia, see what she knows."

"You can't go talk to her," Magdalene said quickly. "Absolutely not."

"She may be able to help us—"

"No," Magdalene scorned strictly. "No. I'll keep looking for a book on vampiric blood laws. You go talk to Dumbledore. Constantine, I need you to promise me that you'll keep this to yourself."

Constantine looked at Magdalene with tender eyes. He leaned down and kissed her gently, startling her to shiver.

"I will keep this to myself," he whispered. "I'll only tell Dumbledore."

"Why did you just kiss me? Because I want to sock you for it."

"So, sock me," he shrugged with a crook smile that would make any woman loose her panties. Thankfully, Magdalene wasn't any woman. She balled her fist and socked him sharply across the jaw. Constantine stepped back, unsteadily, and regained his balance a few steps away from her. He was laughing, which perturbed Magdalene.

"I warned you."

Constantine shook his head. "It's fine. I suppose you have every right to hit me."

"Yea, I did. And your girlfriend has a right to hit you too."

"I'm going to go see Dumbledore," he said easily as if nothing had just happened. As if he hadn't done something that confused and complicated Magdalene's love life even more. She scorned herself as she buried every emotion that was rising in her body. She did not want Constantine to know the fire that had just been lit inside of her by his gentle kiss. He did not need to know that she was burning for him.

"You didn't tell me why you kissed me."

"Because I wanted to," Constantine shrugged with an innocent honest look in his eyes. "Thought it'd reassure you that I'll keep you secret."

"Nothing you do or say will reassure me that you'll keep my secret," Magdalene said wisely.

Constantine snapped his fingers and a knife appeared in his hand. Magdalene stepped back in apprehension, her eyes immediately dilating to silver dark pools. Constantine raised his hand and sliced it open. Magdalene's nostrils filled with the scent of his metallic magic blood. He dropped his hand holding the knife to his side, letting his velvety red blood drip from the chrome blade to the hard wood floor.

"What are you doing?" Magdalene asked as he extended his blood soaked hand to hers.

"Give me your hand," he said.

"No," she said glaring up at him like he was crazy.

"I'm offering a blood vow," he whispered. "Give me your hand."

"No. I don't want you to make any vows to me. The last bond I made is coming back to bite me in the ass. I'm not making any bond to you, Constantine."

Constantine shrugged, then brought his hand to his mouth and carefully licked up his own blood. He took his mouth away from the messy palm for a moment.

"The vow is half made," he whispered. "You just won't hold me to it."

"It's not a vow if I don't hold you to it."

She stepped forward and took his hand, looking up at him with questioning, hungry eyes. He bowed his head, allowing her to lean forward and lick his bleeding palm softly. She kept her eyes on his as she dragged her tongue across the gash. He smiled at her.

"You sure you don't want to hold me to it?"

"Why are you so willing to make a vow to me?" she asked pressing her body against his. He had tempted her vampiric hunger with the scent of his energizing blood. Not only was her blood lust raving through her body now, but her sexual hunger was rising. Constantine was full of his own pent up sexual tension. Magdalene could see it written all over his body; her desires to have him were not only to satisfy her own needs, but to fulfill his. The thirst and lust pushed all rational from her mind. She didn't think of Sirius or the fact that she had just laid with him the night before. She did not think of how she had feelings for him. She did not think of how wrong all of her actions could be.

"To prove that you can trust me."

Magdalene pulled away from him, laughing loudly. "I would be a fool to trust you."

"We both know you are not a fool, Magdalene Markus," he said. "If you were a fool you would not have survived his long. Trust me to keep your deteriorating covenant bond a secret."

"It's not a matter of trust," Magdalene said looking at him sharply. "If you tell anyone other then Dumbledore, I will kill you with my bare hands, Constantine. I don't care whose spy you are or what side you're on. I'll rip your heart out of your chest."

Constantine smiled. "You are more of a vampire then you give yourself credit for." He approached her, making the knife disappear from his hand. Magdalene stood still and watched him move with her shinning eyes. He paused next to her, his shoulder standing much taller then hers because of his towering height, and bent his head down. His lips pressed against her cheek softly, then he hovered near her ear for a moment.

"Do you want some blood?"

Magdalene closed her eyes tightly and did not turn her head to him. She wanted his blood, badly. Of all the blood she had tasted (mostly from blood bags), Constantine's was the best tasting. She fought every desire to let her fangs slip forward and suck on his neck. Her fist balled tightly together and she concentrated on the smell of the ash in the room…not Constantine's blood. When she opened her eyes, they had returned to the dark green shade. She turned her head to Constantine.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"Suit yourself."

He was gone from her side without another word. Magdalene watched him leave the library and felt a breath escape her lips once he was gone. Her body relaxed and she sat back, leaning against the desk. She touched her fingertips to her lips gently, thinking of the way Constantine's body felt against hers. She shuttered and stood up straight, determined to push the bastard from her head. She didn't want to think of him. She didn't like the way he tried to seduce her into trusting him—she couldn't. Period. End of story. It didn't matter that he tried to make a blood vow with her. Those were just words.

_You can't trust peoples words, _she reassured herself. _Only their actions. You can only trust their actions._

She frowned. She probably couldn't trust actions either when it came to Constantine Octavius.

Letting a sigh escape her lips, Magdalene turned to face the wall of books that awaited her inspection. She moved to the ladder that she had been standing on before and put her foot on the first step when a large black bound book caught her eye. It was on the bottom shelf, in the far corner, hidden in plain sight. Magdalene crotched down and lifted the book off the shelf with both hands. It was as heavy as a brick, and so thick that it had to be at least one-thousand pages. Magdalene carried it to the desk and set it down with a loud thump.

The book was bound in black leather with no writing on the front or side. Lifting the cover revealed old yellowing pages that looked to be centuries old. Magdalene took a seat at her father's desk and leaned over the first page of the book. There was no title and no table of contents. Magdalene continued to flip through the pages and saw hand written accounts of vampire's experiences, laws and conflicts. She frowned as she looked through the withering pages of the manuscript; while it was very interesting, she wasn't sure how it was going to help her.

She paused on a page that was marked with her birth date. She didn't recognize the handwriting that was scrawled across the page, but the signature at the bottom of the entry chilled her to the bone, it was that of her father, Marius Markus.

_Today, my daughter is born. She has her mother's eyes…and blood. I don't know how I could not have seen it before, sensed it. Elizabeth was a witch. I thought that mating with Elizabeth, the birth of a half-breed Donovan would have brought the clan great strength. But my daughter's pure vampiric blood is tainted by magic; by the blood of the enemy. I cannot describe the hatred I feel for Elizabeth for not telling me. Her kind…her people have murdered vampires for centuries and now my daughter is one of them. My daughter will be a witch like her mother because magic runs deeper then vampiric hunger. I do not know what this means for Magdalene's future. She is the first half-breed witch in the country to my and Mother's knowledge. She will be different. She will be a monster to my house, my clan. All blood laws previously recorded in this manuscript will be unknown to her blood. I doubt any laws will apply to her…she will be different. Despite how much I should love her, I cannot. She might as well be dead to me, like her mother, for bearing the blood of a witch. _

_ Elizabeth's plan is now clear to me. She was sent by the Ministry of Magic to destroy our clan from the inside out. Obviously, complications arose from the birth. Elizabeth is dead, which is for the better. Her mission will not succeed now. Magdalene will remain. Mother would have me kill her, but I want her here as a constant reminder of why I can trust no one and most certainly not my heart. The girl will remain, despite the enemy that she is._

Magdalene sat back in her chair after reading the passage from the page. Her insides felt like mush; all the pieces of her heart were shattered. She had always known that Markus hated her for being a witch, but she never understood why. And she agreed with him. How could he have not known that Elizabeth was a witch? But why keep Magdalene alive? Why keep her as a constant reminder of his failure?

There were tears in her eyes. Her father had kept her alive to torture her. To remind himself of his indiscretions and to teach her a lesson for something that was beyond her control. She was paying the price for her mother. Markus could not hurt Elizabeth for betraying him, so he hurt Magdalene.

She leaned over the book to reread the passage again and noted the comment saying that the previous pages of the book contained notes on vampiric blood laws. Magdalene pushed all the hatred that was boiling in her stomach into the depths of her soul. Her father was dead, hating him wouldn't help her now. She needed to figure out a way to salvage the remains of her covenant bond with Sirius, because killing him wasn't really an option in her mind.

For the next hour, Magdalene flipped backwards from the entry announcing her birth to the cover of the book. About halfway through the pages, she stopped shortly, slamming her hand down on the open pages. The words "Covenant Bonds" were scribbled across the top of the page in her father's curvy handwriting. Her eyes darted across the page searching for information about maintaining the bond. To her disappointment, there was no mention of such thing. It was just the facts—what a covenant bond was, the ritual to create the bond, and how the only way it can be broken is on the mortal plain when a vampire kills the Covenant. Magdalene didn't see any notations about neglect or deterioration.

She pulled open the top drawer closest to her in search of a pen or quill of some kind. She felt around in the drawer, keeping her eyes on the book for a moment. When she felt nothing in the drawer, she turned to look in it. The drawer was completely empty, lined with ugly green felt covered in dust. Magdalene was about to close the drawer when she realized that there was a brighter spot on the felt. It was a perfectly lined rectangle, untouched by the dust that covered the bottom of the rest of the drawer. Magdalene frowned as she stared at the drawer.

Constantine had been looking through the drawers of the desk. He had only been interested in the desk and sitting at it. At the time, Magdalene didn't think anything of his actions or his nosiness, but now that something appeared to be missing frustration boiled in her. That bullshit he tried to play about being able to trust him just before he left made her even angrier now that she knew he had taken something.

Magdalene slammed the desk drawer shut violently, shaking the entire desk. Her vampiric strength caused the edge of the desk, where the drawer had collided, to crack. Standing up just as violently, the chair flew back away from her. She closed the manuscript in front of her with a loud thud, picked it up and held it against her chest with both arms, and teleported with the blink of her eyes.

She appeared in Dumbledore's office, indifferent to the fact that she was unannounced and pissed off beyond all belief. Dumbledore raised his bushy white eyebrows high over the rim of his half-moon glasses as he looked at her with surprised crystal blue eyes. He was sitting at his desk, looking rather relaxed, writing what appeared to be a letter on old parchment. Magdalene turned on her heel and looked around quickly for Constantine.

"Miss Markus," Dumbledore said slowly. "Is everything alright?"

"Has Constantine come to see you?"

Magdalene threw her messy brown curls out of her face to peer at Dumbledore with gleaming grey eyes. It was clear to see that something had set her in a rage, which caused Dumbledore to stand up very slowly as he waved his wand at his desk. A tall silver goblet appeared and the smell of rich blood reached Magdalene's nose instantly.

"I don't need to feed!" she shouted still clenching the book to her chest. "I need to find Constantine!"

"I just thought I'd offer you something to drink," Dumbledore said easily. Despite the tension in the room, he looked rather relaxed, as if he knew exactly how this discussion would play out. Dumbledore was prepared for anything. "I was being hospitable."

"Sorry," Magdalene said relaxing. She realized that Dumbledore was not the antagonist. She shouldn't take her aggression and frustration out on him.

"Why are you looking for Constantine?"

"Because I'm pretty sure he just stole something from my library."

"You were at Palazzo del Te?"

"Yes," Magdalene said moving to the desk and setting her father's manuscript down with a thud. The smell of the blood in the goblet made her insides turn with hunger. Her silver eyes glanced at the goblet while her fingers lingered on the leather cover of the book.

"What is this?" Dumbledore asked moving back to his chair. He took a seat. "May I?"

Magdalene nodded as she removed her hands from the book. She glanced at Dumbledore as he pulled the book to him and opened it, staring intently at the first written page. Magdalene sighed and picked up the goblet of blood, then took a seat in a fluffy armchair in front of Dumbledore's desk. A faint smile crossed Dumbledore's lips because he noticed her take the glass. His thin index finger traced the lines of script written on the ancient page.

"This is your father's account of vampiric blood laws," he said slowly.

"Yes," Magdalene said before taking a quick drink from the goblet. She meant only to take a sip, but her thirst got the best of her. She closed her eyes and gulped as the blood ran into her mouth and down her throat. Visions of a little blonde hair girl running through a field filled her head and the familiar throbbing of a headache began to set in. Within moments, the blood was gone from the goblet and Magdalene's eyes returned to their natural emerald shade. She sighed with some relief and set the goblet back on the desk. "Thank you," she whispered.

Dumbledore bowed his head as he continued to read.

"Why the sudden interest in blood laws?"

"My mental powers have been unreliable recently," she answered. "And I've been requiring more blood. I noticed it because I haven't been able to read Sirius. I wanted to see if I could learn some more about covenant bonds."

"Did you?"

"What is written in the book I already knew. I asked Constantine to come with me hoping he'd know more…and he did." Dumbledore looked up at Magdalene with curious patient eyes. "Apparently," she continued. "If a covenant bond is neglected it begins to deteriorate over time. It self-destructs. The mortal grows stronger and drains the vampire of their physical and mental powers. My bond with Sirius is killing me slowly."

Dumbledore frowned seriously. "How do you fix it?"

"Constantine seems to think the only way is for me to kill Sirius," Magdalene whispered after a long silence. Dumbledore sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. He looked to the ceiling of his office in deep thought. "But—that's the least of my problems at the moment. Constantine left the library to come speak to you. I noticed he took something from my father's desk. If he has not come to see you then I fear he has betrayed me and I need to find him."

"What could he have taken from the desk?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. "Something small, in the shape of a rectangle. A box or small book perhaps. He hasn't come to see you?"

"I have not seen Constantine at all today," Dumbledore whispered very slowly.

Magdalene nodded her head as she bit her bottom lip. She stood up slowly from her the chair.

"Professor," she said very slowly. "Can I trust this manuscript with you?"

Dumbledore bowed his head and closed the black leather book in front of him. "Absolutely," he said.

"Thank you," Magdalene said carefully as her fingers traced the edge of his desk. "I don't know if I'll be back for it. Please do not let _anyone _take it."

"As you wish, Magdalene."

Magdalene hesitated before teleporting from the office. She eyes fell on the elegant phoenix standing on a gold perch next to the desk. The phoenix's eyes were on her, watching her with cautious curiosity.

"Why do you trust him?" She was referring to Constantine.

"He saved my life when I was a much younger and foolish man," Dumbledore replied calmly. "And he has been my friend ever since."

"You may trust him," Magdalene said as she leaned over the desk. "But I do not and you are still a fool for doing so."

Dumbledore gave her a gentle smile and bowed his head. "Perhaps. But I think there are more dangerous people out there then Constantine. I trust him because he has never given me a reason not to."

"That is what makes you still a fool, Albus," Magdalene said carefully. "And I saw that to you because I consider you a friend. If Constantine burned me, he'll burn you just as easily. You think he is an asset to your cause, to your Order of the Phoenix, but have you stopped to ask yourself how destroying Voldemort will benefit him or the Octavian clan? How will Octavia benefit from Voldemort's demise?"

Dumbledore did not answer, which opened the door for Magdalene to continue. "I'm pretty sure she won't. As long as witches and wizards are fighting with each other vampires can step in and destroy them. My father wrote in that book that magic is the enemy. You all are the enemy—"

"Hunters have not existed for centuries. The Ministry ended the vampire hunt."

"According to my father, my mother was a hunter, sent to destroy the Donovan clan," Magdalene said quickly. "My father should have killed me when Ariana told him to, because my mother succeeded. I destroyed the clan from the inside out. Octavia will destroy the magical population and Constantine is her means of doing so. _You should not trust him_."

"The only reason you believe your bond with Sirius is killing you is because Constantine said so," Dumbledore responded sharply despite the calm expression on his face. "Who is the fool then, Magdalene? The man who trusts a man he knows he can trust, or a woman who trusts a man she knows she cannot?"

Magdalene didn't say another word before she teleported from the library thinking only of Constantine Octavius and where he might be.


	12. Unforeseen Betrayal

Her body was on fire with anger. Dumbledore's words continued to repeat in her head as she stood in a large empty field. The tall brown verge moved gently in the wind, causing it to brush her leg with constant annoyance. She had no idea where she was, but she knew that Constantine had to be close by, otherwise she would not have teleported to the field. Thinking of Constantine only made her frustrations rise. Magdalene felt as if her blood was boiling because all of the men in her life were making everything so complicated. Sirius was just a juxtaposition of every emotion Magdalene had ever felt; Constantine liked to challenge her emotions, push her buttons, and test her trust; Dumbledore could be overruling and allusive about his intentions.

She stepped forward, through the long brown and green grass of the field, and looked around with careful eyes. The sun was peaking over the sky with clouds dancing around it. Magdalene snapped her fingers and a pair of aviator sunglasses appeared in her hand. She put them on carefully as she continued to look around. Wherever she was, she was far from London where it was still raining.

Why would Constantine come out to the middle of a field?

As if on cue, a figure appeared in the field before her. She stared at the man that was bounding towards her with curious eyes. The stature of the silhouette matched Constantine's, but it was curious how he appeared in the field. His figure had come into view as if he were moving out from behind an invisible wall or tree. He did not teleport.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he questioned when he came into earshot. Magdalene raised her eyebrows at Constantine, but did not answer his question. The moment he was close enough to strike she was going to slug him across the face. She didn't want to give him any warning that she was angry. If she had spoken, her tone of voice would have given her away.

Once we was close enough to touch her, he made to grab her arms, but she blocked his reach and slammed her balled fist straight into his jaw. Constantine staggered back in bewildered surprised. He shook his head, spit out some blood that was pooling in his mouth from his split lip and looked up at Magdalene with dark silver eyes. Magdalene's skin crawled with anticipation of a fight; her fangs slid forward in her watering mouth and her eyes faded to silver.

"What are you doing here, Magdalene?" he repeated the question, as he stood up straight, glaring at her with hungry eyes.

"I could ask you the same thing!" she shouted with rage. She made to swing at him again. "You said you'd go to Dumbledore and you wouldn't tell your Mother—"

"She called me to her just as I arrived at Hogsmeade," Constantine interrupted coolly. He grabbed Magdalene's arm as she swung at him and squeezed it tightly. Once his strength had stopped her force, his grip relaxed into a tender tight-hold. She sighed as he continued to spoke. "I thought your message to Dumbledore could wait."

"What did you she want?"

Magdalene hissed like a snake caught in the sunlight. She didn't take her stone like eyes off of Constantine. She studied him, looking for a sign of weakness, a break in his story, a twitch in the wrong direction…but there was nothing. Constantine was as cool and collected as any vampire Magdalene had met. She yanked her arm from Constantine's grip and stepped away from him angrily.

"She wants to know why you followed me here."

"She knows that you're playing both sides—" Magdalene stopped quickly and looked at Constantine with realization.

"She doesn't know," Constantine started to interrupt, but he paused with a moment's worth of hesitation. His eyes drifted away from Magdalene for a mere second, as if he were attempting to choose his next words wisely. "She doesn't know how close we've been. She thinks I've only met you a few times at sanctioned meetings."

Magdalene paused to look up at Constantine with bewildered eyes. She was under the impression that Octavia knew of Constantine's actions, that she was responsible for sending him to Melanie's clan and the Order. Why would she be surprised that Magdalene was close to Constantine? Wasn't that the goal: to earn her trust? Was Constantine trying to tell her something else with those words? That he had feelings for her? The thought made Magdalene's skin crawl. She couldn't handle the mess that would erupt if Constantine admitted he had feelings for her.

"What do you mean?" she questioned reading the concerned expression in his eyes. They were fading from their dark silver tint to their original forest green. She stood up straight and crossed her arms tightly over her chest.

"She's under the impression that you do not know I am an Octavius," he said quickly. "She wants to know why you followed me here…if I've given myself away."

"Oh, so she believes that I think you're some rogue vampire who is only betraying Melanie," Magdalene repeated with sarcasm.

"Correct."

"Does she want you to bring me to her or get rid of me?"

"She wants me to bring you to her."

Magdalene sighed with frustration. This day was just getting better and better. For a moment she wondered if this was Constantine's plan all along; get her alone in Octavia's presences, allow his blood mother to kill her, solve the clan problem by calling a truce with Melanie and the remnants of the Donovan clan. Magdalene didn't like all of the possible 'if' factors that were at play in the situation. There were too many possible out-comes, too many unforeseen betrayals. As she stared at Constantine, she took a moment to remember herself. The only thing that mattered was surviving. It didn't matter how she did it, she just had to.

"What if I refuse?" Magdalene asked.

"Then you'd better have a damn good reason for coming out here," he said. "And be prepared to fight me—"

"I could easily beat you," she snipped.

"I don't want to hurt you," he insisted. "If there was a way for me to send you off without her knowing, I would. But Magdalene, you have to come with me."

"Tell me what you took from my father's desk," Magdalene said sharply.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You were searching all through the drawers. In the top right drawer, there is something missing, a small box or notebook. What did you do with it?"

"Maggie, I swear, I do not know what you're talking about."

Magdalene glared at Constantine with a fury that burned deep within the center of her body. There was no way of telling from his stare if he was speaking the truth or not. Nothing gave him away. Magdalene felt just as lost and vengeful as she did in Dumbledore's office. Even worse, she felt stupid. What if she was wrong and she was accusing Constantine of something he was not guilty of? Was she just looking for a reason to not trust him?

Constantine extended his hand to her.

"Come with me," he said. "I promise I will not let my mother hurt you."

She wanted to spit on his hand. She wanted to slug him and rip his throat open. But, despite her better judgment, Magdalene took his hand.

"After we've dealt with your mother," she said as he started to lead her across the field to where he had randomly, almost magically, appeared. "You will give me what you took from my father's desk. And if you did not take anything, you will help me figure out what is was and who took it."

"I really don't know what you're talking about," he replied calmly despite the threatening tone in Magdalene's voice.

She rolled her eyes away from him and looked ahead to where they were walking. She bit her bottom lip in awe as a mansion began to manifest in front of her, appearing out of thin air. As if an invisible pencil was drawing the building in front of her, it appeared from the ground up in magnificent colors. In front of the mansion, with it's black accents, clear windows, and red brick, a split staircase lead to the porch in front of the main entrance. A long gravel driveway appeared as if it were a carpet unrolling from the front steps of the entrance all the way to Magdalene's feet. When the gravel stopped at the toes of her boots, she raised her eyebrows in true surprise.

Magdalene had never heard of vampiric magic that could hide an entire mansion and she doubted that Octavia would use wizarding means to hide her home, but that appeared to be the only explanation for the beautiful red brick mansion to be hidden. Magdalene didn't understand how it could be invisible to her eyes one moment and then completely visible the next. She looked at Constantine with raised eyebrows. He was smiling dully at her startled expression.

"Her home has always been this way," he whispered. "I have never asked why or how it came to be possible."

"But it just appeared."

"Actually, it was there the entire time," Constantine smiled. "If you had kept walking through the field you would have stumbled upon it eventually."

"Why does she want to see me?" Magdalene questioned as they approached.

"She wants to know why you followed me here."

"Alright, but isn't it more likely that when you approached me in the field I fought you and escaped?"

"You wouldn't escape me."

Magdalene laughed. "What makes you say that?"

"Because she wants me to bring you to her no matter what it takes," he said very softly. "She has decided it is time to meet you and form an alliance. But Maggie, we have to be very careful."

Magdalene stopped and looked up at Constantine. "You have to be very careful. I am always careful. If you were more careful we wouldn't be in this situation."

Constantine glared down at Magdalene as she crossed her arms over her chest. She studied his forest green eyes as they stared at her. Without warning, he grabbed her shoulders and planted his moist lips on hers, kissing her with heated passion she did not see coming. Instead of slapping him, like she should have for so many reasons, she closed her eyes and let the fire from his mouth overtake her. Her arms began to wrap around his center as his arms engulfed her, but suddenly he broke free, mid-kiss, and stepped back. Magdalene stumbled forward slightly and glared up at Constantine with violent silver eyes.

"What was that about?" she questioned, ashamed that she had fallen into his kiss. She had given into him and there was no way to deny it. Constantine was grinning at her with a glimmer in his forest green eyes because he knew what she was thinking. Now, she really did want to slap him.

"It might be the last chance I get to kiss you," he shrugged before turning and moving up the newly formed gravel driveway to the front steps of the mansion. Magdalene rolled her eyes and made to follow Constantine, unsure if this was really a good idea. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and kept peering over her shoulder, as if expecting another vampire to jump out behind her and throw a bag over her head or attack her.

Constantine didn't look back as he walked up the left side of the split staircase towards the front door. Magdalene paused at the base of the stairs and looked at the beautiful flowerbeds in front of the house. Bushes with blooming black roses spread from either side of the split staircase to the ends of the front of the house. Between the staircases were climbing rose bushes that traveled up the wall of the staircases to wrap around the metal hand railings of the stairs.

Magdalene had never seen black roses in bloom before, but she knew they were a characteristic of the Octavius clan. Supposedly, when Octavia changed a person she would leave a black rose on their chest and leave before they woke. She was notorious for abandoning her charges after changing them. But Magdalene thought that was just a rumor, something that had traveled across England to spread fear of her. The rumors had never terrified Magdalene, especially then as she walked into Octavia's home; she was not afraid.

Octavia was her great-aunt by vampiric blood. The same man had changed Octavia and Ariana. Now that Magdalene had Ariana's powers and memories inside of her, she was not afraid of Octavia. She knew that she was powerful and strong enough to kill Octavia if she had to…or was she, since her powers seemed to be weakening because of her covenant bond to Sirius?

Constantine opened the door to the mansion and stepped back to allow Magdalene to enter first. She frowned slightly as she passed him and the entrance into the mansion. Her eyes opened widely as she took in the entrance hall around her. It was about the same size as the entrance hall of Palazzo del Te. Lined with dark cherry wood floors and emerald green walls, the entrance hall looked uncomfortably like a dank forest. The magnificent wooden staircase at the end of the hall started as one staircase and divided into two staircases that appeared to lead into opposite ends of the mansion. On the left side of the hall there was an elegant ballroom lined with French windows and doors that lead out to patios no doubt decorated with beautiful foliage and flowers. The floor was made of cream marble, embellished with tiles and gems in floral patterns. In the farthest corner of the ballroom stood an elegant black grand piano; Magdalene wondered if Constantine knew how to play. Palazzo del Te did not have a ballroom; she found the sight to be quite impressive.

Across from the ballroom was a long corridor like room, completely paneled in wood and filled with a long dinning table and at least forty chairs. Magdalene didn't pause to look at the dinning hall, as Constantine called her name, bringing her attention back to him.

"Mother is in her library," he whispered taking her arm.

"You've lived here your entire life?" she questioned as he lead her down the entrance hall towards the staircase. They mounted it quickly, and veered off to the staircase on the left leading into the east wing of the mansion.

"Yes," Constantine replied as they followed the staircase to a dimly lit corridor.

"Constantine," she whispered his name quickly, which caused him to pause in the middle of the dark hall to look at her. Flickering candle light laid shadows on his defining handsome facial features, causing Magdalene to catch her breath for a moment as she peered up at him. "Do you anticipate that she will try to kill me?"

"I don't know," Constantine said very slowly.

"Please understand that if she attacks me in anyway I will define myself."

"I understand," he bowed his head. Without another word, he turned on his heel and lead Magdalene farther down the corridor. When they reached the end of it, Constantine paused in front of a pair of cherry wood doors. He gripped his hands on the doorknobs and Magdalene saw a moment of hesitation in his actions. He took a deep breath, then opened the door.

"Mother," he called. "May I present Magdalene Markus, heir and head of the Donovan clan?"

Magdalene followed Constantine into the lavished library. She looked around the dark wooded room with forest green carpet and immediately met the charcoal grey eyes of Octavia Octavius. Magdalene frowned as the pale-skinned woman stood up from her desk, brushed her jet-black wavy hair over her shoulder, and approached Magdalene. She was a smaller woman then Magdalene had anticipated. She only stood about five foot two, and looked to weight about one-hundred pounds. She wore a black floor length dress, with spaghetti straps, that glittered from the waist down. Her nails were painted dark blood red, matching her red lips. Smoky eye make-up dusted her eyelids complimenting her eyeliner and lipstick. She was a staggeringly beautiful woman and Magdalene would have known she was a vampire just by the sight of her. It was obvious that Octavia could seduce and have any man-vampire, mortal and Muggle alike.

"Hello, Magdalene," Octavia said in a chilling voice that caused Magdalene's eyes to sharply turn silver. Octavia smirked at her as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against her desk. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Before Magdalene could return the greeting a sharp prickle shot up her spine, causing her to hiss with agony, bend forward and grab her temples. Constantine stepped forward, but remembered himself, and dared not move closer to Magdalene as she appeared to have an episode.

Ariana's memories of Octavia flooded her head. She saw both women falling to the feet of the vampire who had changed them, and him gently lifting Octavia's head while ignoring Ariana. Like flashes of film reels, the scene changed and she was standing in the very same library with Octavia and Ariana viciously physically fighting each other. Ariana threw a lamp at Octavia, who blocked it with her physical powers and sent it flying into a bookshelf. When the lamp shattered, both women stopped to glare at each other.

"Touch one of my clan again and I will finish you, blood sister or not," Ariana hissed. "I will crush your skull like you crushed that lamp."

Without another word, she vanished from the library.

Magdalene stood up straight while still clutching her head. She looked directly at Octavia, who seemed amused by her sudden episodic pain, and returned the glare.

"You know who I am, don't you?" Octavia whispered as her red long nails dug into her own flesh on her arm.

"Yes," Magdalene said with a nod. "Honestly, anyone would be an idiot if they didn't know."

Octavia beamed. "Yes, that means I'm doing my job right."

"Your job?"

"To maintain an unquestionable reputation," Octavia was still beaming as she approached Magdalene.

Magdalene made to take a step back but Constantine stepped behind her, placing his hand gently on her shoulder and squeezing it so she would not move away from Octavia. Magdalene was not sure if the squeeze was meant to hold or reassure her.

"Constantine tells me that you are a great deal of trouble."

"He's a bit of trouble himself."

"Yes," Octavia sighed. "He has all the traits of a youngest child I'm afraid."

Octavia was standing directly in front of Magdalene who was leaning back against Constantine's chest.

"Who do you think he is loyal to?"

Magdalene couldn't tell if it was a trick question or not. Should she say he was loyal to Octavia, which is what she wanted to hear no doubt, or did she say what she really thought? Constantine was only loyal to himself.

"No need to say it, Magdalene," Octavia said as her fingers twisted Magdalene's hair. "I agree with you, but that is how I raised him so I only have myself to blame. While he is not loyal to me, he is loyal to blood as all vampires are."

"Funny, I don't think I was very loyal to my blood when I killed my father and grandmother."

"But you were loyal to yourself," Octavia smirked as she dragged the nail of her right index finger along Magdalene's jaw line. "You and Constantine are very much alike. Didn't you ever think it was curious that he was part of the Donovan clan? He was not there just to infiltrate my blood sister's betraying clan, he was there to find you."

"Excuse me?"

"Constantine was sent to your grandmother in hopes that she would betroth you to him," Octavia said. "To re-forge the clans together, but when that did not work, I sent Constantine to the remnants for your clan and the Order of the Phoenix to find you. You are destined to return to your true roots, Magdalene. Together we can bring all vampires in England into one clan, making them more powerful then before."

Magdalene could only stare at Octavia with a confused expression, as if the woman in front of her was talking non-sense. She wanted to merge the remains of the Donovan clan with her own? She didn't want to simply destroy Ariana's legacy? She would rule all of the vampires in England just as easily; but perhaps mass murder of an entire clan was more difficult then merging.

She turned her head and looked at Constantine, who had removed his hand from her shoulder. He was frowning and his forest green eyes had twisted into dark shades of grey. Magdalene turned completely to him, now glaring with her own silver eyes, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's the truth," he whispered with a sigh of aggravation. Magdalene turned on her heel, in stark disbelief, to address Octavia again.

"I don't understand," Magdalene spoke very slowly. "You don't want to destroy the Thompson clan, you want to merge it with your own?"

"Magdalene, by all rights you are the head of the Thompson clan because they are an off branch of the Donovan clan. You rule over Melanie, which is part of the reason why she wants to kill you," Octavia said with boredom on her tongue. "If you merge with us, through an honored union and blood bond, then your clan will be forced into ours—"

"No," Magdalene said bluntly before Octavia could finish explaining. "I don't care for vampiric politics. I don't care who rules the clans or who is stronger. I just want to live."

"Do you think the vampires will survive once the wizarding war is over?" Octavia hissed like Magdalene was stupid. "Now is the time to strike. Now we have to combine our forces so we will survive in the future."

"You may have forgotten Octavia, but I was once a half breed, like your son," Magdalene retorted sharply at the elder vampire. "I have alliances with witches and wizards that run deeper then my blood."

Octavia rolled her eyes and turned to the desk. She picked up a tall goblet of red wine and drank from it, finishing the glass off.

"You are more foolish then Constantine lead me to believe," Octavia said as she faced away from Magdalene.

"More stubborn too," Magdalene said. "Now, if that is all, I would like to leave. I have business to attend to." She slid a sideways glare at Constantine, who still had not said a word.

"Magdalene, I'm afraid I can't let you leave," Octavia turned away from the desk. "You don't seem to understand the importance you bare to my cause. Without you I cannot regain control over my blood lines. Ariana was my blood sister, you are my blood niece, and I want to resume control of my family. You will help me do this or I will kill you."

"Killing me won't give you control over anyone. I do not govern a clan, I have rejected those rights and you will not earn them from me."

"It's more complicated then that, you foolish girl. Rights pass through blood. Even if you reject them, you still have them and I can earn them by killing you. Your rights will pass to me and I will be the most powerful vampire in the country."

"Why don't you just do that then?" Magdalene said with mild frustration. She felt like she was wasting her time. She had to get out of here. She had to figure out how to fix her bond with Sirius, and she had to track down whatever was taken from her father's desk in the library. "Skip the middle step of marrying Constantine off. If you kill me you get what you want."

"Don't tempt me, Magdalene," Octavia said coming close to her again. "You are weak from your Covenant. It would not be a fair fight, and if I'm going to kill you, I want it to be a fight worthy of both of us."

Magdalene frowned as the woman approached her. Despite the words coming from her mouth, Magdalene knew she couldn't trust them. Vampires didn't believe in fair fights and she seriously doubted that Octavia, of all vampires, would even give her a chance to win.

Not to Magdalene's surprise, Octavia lunged forward and with a balled fist, slugged Magdalene across the face. She knew it was coming, but didn't move fast enough to prevent it, a mistake she would not make twice. Magdalene staggered back from the hit as her jaw burned with pain. She backed into a beautifully upholstered cherry wood sitting chair, and fall over it, causing the chair legs to break.

Kicking pieces of the chair out of the way allowed Octavia to find a perfectly sharpened stake, once a leg of the chair, which she scooped up and clutched tightly in her pale spider like hand. Magdalene turned her head just in time to see Octavia lurching for her with the stake. She rolled away from Octavia's attack, but the sharpened stake stabbed into her calf, causing her to cry out in shocked pain.

Octavia pulled the stake out of Magdalene's leg and grabbed onto her ankle. She held Magdalene and stepped onto her, the heel of her right boot digging into Magdalene's shoulder as she pinned her firmly to the ground.

"You made this easier then I ever thought it would be," Octavia said as she waved the bloody stake in front of Magdalene's face. "So easy in fact, I'm questioning how powerful you really are."

Magdalene didn't say anything. She only glared up at Octavia with violent silver eyes as she took a deep breath. She grabbed Octavia's leg on her shoulder and with all of her strength pulled forward and up, pulling Octavia's leg out from under her. Octavia's leg shot up over Magdalene's head as she fell to the floor on top of Magdalene. The stake fell out of her hand and rolled across the ground towards the desk. Octavia moved quickly on top of Magdalene to straddle her, pinning her down still. Despite her small size, she was deceivingly strong. Her small, boney hands wrapped around Magdalene's neck and began to squeeze the life out of her. The tips of her red fingernails dug into Magdalene's skin, drawing blood.

Panic rose within Magdalene as she clawed desperately at Octavia's face, hoping to distract her grip for a moment long enough to throw her off. She only needed a second, just a second to win this fight. But as Magdalene struggled, Octavia's grip grew stronger. Magdalene chocked for air as blood ran down her neck.

How could she have been so stupid to follow Constantine into this damned mansion? Why hadn't she just left well enough alone and approached him about the missing item from her father's library when she saw him next? This was not how she wanted to die; not by the literal hands of Octavia Octavius. Magdalene closed her eyes because her vision was starting to blur and she was becoming dizzy.

Unexpectedly, there was a thrusting sound, followed by a gasp. Magdalene opened her eyes as Octavia's grip began to loosen. Octavia's eyes were full of surprise as she stared down at Magdalene. Blood was oozing from her mouth, and looking down, Magdalene saw why. The blood soaked stake was sticking through Octavia's chest, straight through her heart. Her hands groped at it as she looked down, truly dumbfounded. Her body began to shake on top of Magdalene and just before she was about to burst into flames, she looked over her shoulder at her youngest son, Constantine.

He stood behind the two women with a sad frown on his face. He looked at his mother with pleading eyes, begging her to forgive him for what he had just done. His handsome features remained despite the desperation on his face. His wide shoulders were slumped forward as his hands hung uselessly at his sides.

No words were said between the two before Octavia burst into flames on top of Magdalene. Octavia's body fell to the side as the flames danced on her and melted her flesh. Magdalene cried out as the fire caught her clothing. She rolled away quickly as the heat spread across her waist.

Constantine dashed to the window and pulled the curtains off the wall, making a cacophony of falling metal rods. He returned to Magdalene and threw the rich red velvet curtain on top of her and patted her down so the fire was put out.

Magdalene sat up in startled shock, looking up at Constantine with the same dumbfounded expression as Octavia. Her eyes relaxed, returning to soft green, as she peered across the room to the pile of dust that was once Octavia Octavius. Magdalene turned her head to Constantine.

"What have you done?" she asked with fear on her tongue.


	13. Change the Game

"I just saved both of our lives," Constantine said roughly, as Magdalene sat up on the couch to glare at him. He had laid her down on the couch in her flat as soon as they arrived to look at her injured leg. Magdalene continue to yell at him as he untied her laces and pulled off her shoes.

"By saving our lives you're putting us in more danger—"

"Everything she said was true, Maggie," he said throwing her boots away from them. He threw them so hard out of frustration that they hit the wall by the front door violently. Magdalene looked up at him with frustrated eyes. Constantine didn't appear apologetic about denting the wall with her shoes. "She wanted us to create an honorable bond together that would merge the clans. You were right to question her interest in the Order and defeating Voldemort because she didn't have any. She was only interested in the information about the war and you. The Order was a means to _you._ To Octavia, magic was the enemy and she would do anything in her power to stop witches and wizards, even if it meant merging her high standing clan with the betraying remnants of her sister's clan. Can't you see that her agenda needed you to succeed?"

Magdalene looked at Constantine with a deep frown. "You planned to kill her all along?"

Constantine frowned as he looked down at Magdalene's lap. It was as if he were ashamed of what he had done; that he had killed his mother because she threatened Magdalene's safety. "It had to be done. She was right when she said I am loyal to myself."

He began to unbutton Magdalene's pant causing her to snatch his hands away from her. He looked up at her with high eyebrows.

"You have to take off your pants so I can dress the wound," he said matter-of-factly.

Magdalene released a heavy sigh and helped Constantine take her pants off. He dropped them uselessly on the ground before bending his head down to examine the hole that went straight through her calf. Every time he touched it, she flinched in pain.

"Why hasn't it healed yet?" she questioned with concern.

"I'm not sure," Constantine replied honestly. "Perhaps your covenant bond is draining you of your power to self heal as well."

"Fantastic," Magdalene hissed with sarcasm.

Constantine pulled the switchblade out of his boot and flicked it open. Without asking Magdalene if she needed blood, he slit across his wrist allowing blood to pour from his flesh. Magdalene's sense tingled with hunger as the scent of Constantine's rich blood reached her nose. She bit her lip and looked up at him with silver-grey eyes. He leaned forward, extending his wrist to her as her fangs slid forward in her mouth. She grabbed his wrist with one hand and sucked her lips around the gash on the inside of his wrist. His hot, magically charged blood flooded her mouth and slipped down her throat. She drank quickly, hungrier then she realized.

Constantine's body leaned forward onto her lap as unconsciousness began to take him. His free hand crawled behind her head, stroking her hair and then rested on the back of her neck. His thumb gently rubbed the flesh below her ear in a comforting manner.

As she drank his blood, her mind became overwhelmed with visions of Samantha, Constantine's ex-fiancée. The woman, who she had not seen before, was breath taking. She was a tall brunette, with burning sapphire eyes that looked deeper then the darkest part of the ocean. Magdalene wondered curiously, what motivated such depth in a person? Surely, her eyes were not that deep and mystical when they were green.

With the satisfaction of drinking Constantine's blood fulfilling her system, she pulled her mouth and fangs away from his wrist. His head had fallen on her shoulder. She gently brushed his hair as he slept in a thin unconsciousness. His body rested over her torso, practically lying on top of her as she remained stretched out on the couch. His breath was hot and soft on her neck. She held his wrist in her hand as she tilted her head back on the armrest of the couch. As she inhaled slowly, trying to catch her breath, she felt her body relax. Her eyes returned to their gentle green shade, and her heart stopped beating feverishly. Within a moment, Constantine woke, raising his head slowly from her shoulder and pulling away from her body and the couch. He stood up straight, pressing his open wound to his torso to let the blood soak into his shirt. After a few moments of silence, he pulled his wrist away from his body to reveal that the wound had healed. Magdalene frowned slightly. Her calf was still gushing on the couch. She should have self-healed by then.

"Perhaps I should take you to St. Mungo's," Constantine whispered as he looked at her calf. His fingers traced her soft flesh around the wound, tickling every heightened sense in her leg and making her shiver.

"No," Magdalene shook her head in response. "Constantine?"

He looked up at her with raised eyebrows. "How did killing her serve a purpose to you?"

Constantine looked directly into Magdalene's eyes and said nothing, which did not ease the jumpy feeling in her stomach. She studied him, waiting for him to speak, to say anything that would ease the fear she had pumping in her heart. She did not want to hear that Constantine killed his mother for her. That was the last thing she wanted.

"It will be easier to inherit the clan now," he replied, breaking the silence that was going to kill Magdalene. She bit her bottom lip with mild relief, but wasn't sure if she believed him.

"Your brother has inherited the clan," Magdalene said as Constantine turned away from her to look at her calf again. He sat back with a sigh of relief, which attracted Magdalene's attention.

"It's healing," he said thankfully. Magdalene rolled her eyes. She suddenly didn't care about her damned leg healing. How could Constantine not see that he had just started a war with his blood clan? Or that his brother would come after him to avenge their mother's murder?

"He will kill you for this, just like Ariana tried to kill me when I murdered my father. It's not bad enough that we are caught up in a magical war between Voldemort and the rest of England, now you have to start another war between us and the entire vampire population of England!"

"You were already at war with Melanie all on your own—"

"Now you've dragged me into this! Your brother will think we did it together—"

"Stop," Constantine said calmly as he took Magdalene's hand. He leaned forward, close to her, almost touching his forehead against hers. He spoke to her like a lover, as if his words would ease any fear or trouble she had. "It will be fine. We will survive."

"Don't touch me," Magdalene hissed pulling her hand out of his and shoving him away. "We are not partners, Constantine. We are not going to survive this together. Get out of my flat."

Constantine bowed his head and stood up quickly. His expression was of indifference. He did not appear hurt or troubled by her quick dismissal. He brushed her hair behind her ear, which she allowed him to do without biting his hand off. She didn't look him in the eye though. She ignored him as he affectionately touched her.

"Your eyes have more depth then hers ever did," he whispered as he pulled away.

Magdalene fought every desire to look up at Constantine in surprise. She bit her bottom lip and glared into the floorboards of her flat while she waited to hear the door shut behind Constantine.

"Maggie, even if the players are different, the game is still the same. What happened today changes nothing."

She wanted to scream at him; how did he not get that what happened had changed everything? Was he truly ignorant enough to think that he wouldn't be on the run form his blood-brothers, now? That the rest of the clan wouldn't come after him? That they wouldn't come after Magdalene? The game was completely different now because the players had changed. Constantine was being an idiot.

She didn't scream at him. She was too angry to yell anymore; she just needed him to leave so she could think. She had to figure out what to do next…She waited for the door to close, and when it finally met it's frame she released a heavy sigh and put her head in her hands.

"Who was that leaving?" asked a voice.

Magdalene jumped and turned sharply on the couch. She tried to stand, but her calf was still too weak, and she fell forward, forced to grab onto the couch to maintain her balance.

"Sirius!" she said surprised as she stared at him. She looked at him suspiciously suddenly.

"Magdalene?" he returned with a curious midnight stare. He approached slowly, as if she were a trembling deer, that could dash off if he moved to suddenly.

"Who was Moony's first girlfriend? The one you called Foxy?"

Sirius smirked as he stopped next to the couch. He was only wearing blue jeans, which caused Magdalene's heart to skip a beat, because his muscular, tattooed torso was exposed. He crossed his arms over his chest, allowing his muscles to flex and give Magdalene sexually charged chills of desire.

"You were," he was still smirking and staring at her with flirtatious eyes, much like he had looked at her that morning at the Potter's flat. "Who saved you from Moony the first time you saw him as a werewolf?"

"I saved myself," Magdalene replied. Sirius rolled his eyes, it wasn't the answer he was looking for to the security question, but he knew she was being a smart-ass. She shrugged. "Well, I guess it depends how you look at it. I suppose you could argue that you saved me, or even James."

"Yea," Sirius nodded approaching Magdalene. He grabbed onto her belt loops and pulled her into his arms. "I guess you could argue that."

Magdalene couldn't help but smile as he leaned forward and planted gentle kisses on her lips. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her body against his. After they kissed a few more times, Sirius pulled back to look her in the eye.

"Was that Constantine?"

"Yes," Magdalene nodded. "He helped me with some things…and also created more trouble for me."

"What kind of trouble?"

"He killed his blood-mother," Magdalene whispered. "Because she was going to kill me…and now he's in the same boat with his clan as I am with mine."

"He killed Octavia?"

Magdalene nodded to Sirius' surprised expression. "Isn't that a good thing for us? Wasn't she aligning herself with Voldemort?"

"No," Magdalene responded as she took a seat back on the couch and propped her injured leg up on the makeshift coffee table. The table was an empty wooden box that she had flipped upside down. Despite being healed, her leg was still throbbing; she needed to get off of it. Sirius took a seat next to her, noticing her injury. "I think Melanie was trying to align herself with him…Octavia was hoping the entire magical population would destroy itself and leave vampires to rule England."

"That sounds fabulous," Sirius replied.

Magdalene glanced at him as she leaned back into the cushions of the couch. He was staring across the room, looking out the window. Magdalene wondered if he had overheard or seen any of her interactions with Constantine. Had he actually known that it was Constantine who had left? Was he jealous? She couldn't tell even though she was trying to channel Sirius with her empathic powers.

"Have you felt stronger?" she questioned.

Sirius looked at her with gentle, but confused, eyes. "How do you mean?"

"I was researching covenant bonds," Magdalene replied. "Constantine and I have a theory that because our bond has been neglected, it is destroying me. It is normal in such cases for the Covenant to literally drain the vampire of their strength and powers. I've been weaker, Sirius. I need blood more often and I can't read you."

"I don't feel stronger," he said as he studied her. "But I have been picking up on you more easily. I can read you like an open book without even trying—like this morning. I knew you were at the Potter's the moment I stepped on the porch. And I was able to channel your thoughts after you left here. I didn't know where you were, but I could feel you…hear you, in my head."

Magdalene frowned and nodded.

"How do we fix it?" Sirius asked because she remained silent.

Magdalene held her breath for a moment. "I have to kill you."

She looked at Sirius after she spoke and saw that the color had drained from his cheeks. She gave him a very weak smile, but it was not reassuring. She was terrified; and she was sure he was too, even though she couldn't read his feelings or thoughts.

"The game has changed," she whispered taking his hand. "And we will figure it out."


	14. The Ledger

The Potter's kitchen was well-lit and warm, but silent as September rolled in with blustery winds. The end of summer had been fast and hard; the war against Voldemort had taken a sharp turn when he suddenly became interested in James' and Lily's actions against him. They had been no more active against his beliefs then other members of the Order of the Phoenix, but for a puzzling reason he had seemed to take a great interest in them. Dumbledore was recommending that they go into hiding, stop fighting against Voldemort and focus on surviving.

The war was becoming depressing. More and more people were dying or giving into Voldemort. As Magdalene sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by her friends in stiff-silence, she couldn't help but think that the war was almost over as she read the newspaper. Voldemort was winning; it was just a matter of time before he completely took over the Ministry of Magic, released the Dementors from the warden positions at Azkaban and seized power over Hogwarts.

Magdalene had managed to stay alive because no vampires had come after her since Octavia's death, which was surprising. She was alarmed that no one was coming after her…it almost seemed too easy. She hadn't heard from Constantine since she sent him away from her flat, and she wondered if perhaps that is why she hadn't been hunted down like a wild dog. Perhaps, Constantine was dead and his brothers did not know Magdalene's involvement with their blood-mother's death.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Lily's frustrated voice sliced through the silence. She looked directly at Magdalene, who put down the paper to look at her best friend.

"There was no need," she said weakly.

"No need!?" Lily repeated hotly. Her green eyes were burning so feverishly that Magdalene thought they might turn silver at any moment. "Sirius is literally sucking the life out of you and you thought there was _no need_ to tell us!?"

"We're working on a solution," Magdalene responded rather calmly.

"And we didn't want to burden you," Sirius added quickly. He was sitting two seats away from Magdalene, Remus separated them, and was holding his sleeping godson in his arms. "With Harry giving you grief, and the trouble of Voldemort's interest—"

"She could die, Sirius!" Lily hissed as she slammed her hand down on the table. Harry stirred in Sirius' arms, but did not wake, which surprised Magdalene.

"Actually, I'm immortal," Magdalene said with some cheek. "I'm already dead…so it would really just be completing the process."

"Shut up, Magdalene!"

Magdalene frowned at Lily who had snapped at her again. "After everything we've been through, I thought by now you would know not to keep things from us. This is important. You are our only family. All of you in this room. James' parents are gone now—" They had been murdered by Death Eaters a few weeks ago. "—we have no one else. We can't protect each other if we're not honest and open with each other."

James, Remus and Peter were sitting around the table as well in silence. They didn't seem to want to comment, in fear that Lily might chew their heads off as well.

"I appreciate that sentiment," Magdalene responded. "But these are the facts, Lily. I am in no more danger then I was before. Sirius is not in any danger, if anything he is getting stronger. You, however, are in more danger. You are the one who we should be worried about. Sirius and I will be fine. We are trying to repair the covenant bond—"

"By sleeping together?" Lily shot back.

"Not exactly," Magdalene retorted with her own sharp tone. She was starting to grow short with Lily. This was part of the reason she had asked Sirius not to say anything about the destructive covenant bond to anyone. She knew that Lily would blow it out of proportion. "Lily, you have a family to think of. You and James are lucky that Voldemort hasn't come blowing through your door—_you two need to go into hiding_."

"We don't want to hide from a fight," James replied coolly before Lily could scream at Magdalene. She was red in the face, and James took her hand, which gripped the edge of the tabletop, in an attempt to calm her. "Hiding will give Voldemort exactly what he wants."

"No it won't," Remus said briefly. "Frankly, he wants you two dead. We don't know exactly why, but does he really need a reason? He's killed so many people without a reason already."

"It gives him the power," Lily whispered sadly.

"Sitting here, waiting for him to kill you gives him the power too," Sirius snipped. "You have a family—a son—to think about. You have to go into hiding to keep Harry safe. He will need his parents and you're no good to him dead."

"I will not raise my son to be a coward, who hides when the fight gets thick," James said quickly to his best friend.

"You are not being cowards," Peter said. "You're being smart."

He hadn't spoken all night, so naturally, we all looked at our quiet friend. When our eyes fell on him, he looked down at the table with a sheepish expression. He flushed and forced a smile.

"No one will think ill of you for taking your son into hiding," Peter added.

"Of course not," Remus said strongly. "We would have you live to see the end of this war so that we can all grow old together."

Magdalene laughed lightly. Of anyone, she was most likely to live the longest…if it weren't for the price on her head and the covenant bond killing her slowly.

"He's serious," Sirius said as he rocked Harry, who was starting to stir. Lily looked at her son and stood up from the table without a word. She moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a pre-made bottle. After setting it on the counter, she filled a pot halfway with water and placed it on the stove. She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter as she peered back at the table where everyone else remained.

"James," she said his name softly, despite her temper she was able to speak to her husband with a gentle, loving tone. James looked up at his wife who stood feet away. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and brushed his messy dark hair out of his face. "What do you think?"

"I think," he started as he stared at her. He took a slow breathe before he continued to speak. "We should consider talking to Dumbledore about finding a new home."

"It's only a matter of time," Remus said. "You should speak to him sooner rather then later."

Lily nodded and turned her attention to the pot of water that was beginning to boil. She placed the bottle in the water, letting it float as it heated up. Her back was turned to her friends, now, but Magdalene could tell that she was unhappy. Her shoulders were slumped forward and she appeared with drawn. Sirius nudged her foot to get her attention. She looked up at him with raised eyebrows.

"Do we need to go?" he asked.

Magdalene frowned. Sirius was still getting stronger, he could tell when she was hungry before Magdalene truly thought about or felt it. She nodded her head as she folded her paper up.

"How are you going to fix your covenant bond?" Lily asked as they began to stand from the table. Sirius was handing off Harry to James as Magdalene placed the paper on the table.

"We're going to mend it," Sirius shrugged as if the answer was obvious.

"We have to have a better relationship," Magdalene added. "We can't be dysfunctional anymore."

"Thank Merlin," Remus sighed as he sat back in his chair with a heavy sigh. Magdalene gave him a sharp glare, which caused him to laugh humbly. "I'm just kidding, Maggie, no need to turn a death glare on me."

Magdalene nodded with a small smile and looked at Lily, who was still looking annoyed. She understood why her best friend was upset. She didn't blame Lily for not wanting to hide. She wasn't crazy about hiding either, but sometimes it was all that could be done to guarantee survival. At this point of the war, surviving was all that mattered.

"Maggie?"

Magdalene blinked and looked at Sirius who was standing, holding her coat, in the doorframe of the kitchen. She bowed her head and moved forward, taking it from him with thanks. The coat was a black leather bomber jacket. She liked the feeling of the leather on her skin, and the way the jacket looked on her. Of course, she didn't really need it. She couldn't feel the cold or the heat because she was dead. Her body adjusted to the temperature around her, much like a cold-blooded animal.

Once their coats were on, Sirius and Magdalene went around the room saying good-bye to their friends and exchanging hugs. Sirius lingered for a few moments with James, kissing Harry's head and telling him he was a 'handsome little bastard.'

Magdalene embraced Lily tightly, when she stepped back, Lily caught her arm so she couldn't leave too quickly.

"You should take your own advice."

"About what?" Magdalene questioned with raised eyebrows.

"About going into hiding," Lily responded. "This is a war and you're in more danger then all of us because you're caught in two different battles. You should leave the country."

The thought had crossed Magdalene's mind before, but she didn't think she could go now. She was in too deep. And Sirius would have to go with her. Magdalene could never have a fresh start; just run away and start a new life where no one knew her or the fact that she was a vampire; Sirius was her Covenant and she could not leave him.

"Perhaps we all should," was Magdalene's reply.

Lily frowned and turned away, facing the kitchen sink and the back window out into the small yard that was behind their London home.

"It is not so easy for us to run," she said sadly.

"Yes, it is—"

"It's our lives we're fighting for," Lily said sharply as she turned to face Magdalene, as if Magdalene didn't understand what the war was about, who Voldemort was, or what he was seeking to destroy. "You may not understand because you're not a Muggle-born, but my life, my rights and those of my son are at stake Maggie, I can't just run from that fight. Who will fight for it, if we all run?"

"There is no shame in surviving to fight another day," Magdalene responded strongly. "You pick the battles you can win, the battles you can survive—"

"_You pick the battles worth dying for_!" Lily shouted in anger.

The men on the opposite side of the kitchen looked up towards the two women standing by the sink. Silence fell in the house, which was quickly broken by Harry cooing for attention. Magdalene frowned at her best friend, but bowed her head.

"That is your opinion, Lily," she said softly. She turned and walked away from Lily, who was red in the face and upset, not just angry but sad. Magdalene bid one last good-bye to the rest of her friends in the kitchen and made for the front of the house, where she stood on the porch and waited for Sirius to follow. He did within a few more moments.

She was standing, leaning against the mailbox at the end of the front walk, with her hands in her bomber jacket pockets.

"You alright?" Sirius asked as he approached from behind. Magdalene stood up straight, with a deep frown on her face, and turned to look back at him. Her hands remained in her pockets as she studied him.

He was standing before her in dark blue jeans and a grey pull-over. Despite the faint chill on the September wind, he did not wear a jacket. His dark hair had grown long in the last few months and he didn't seem to care enough to cut it. His eyes were dark, but clearly visible in the darkness of the night.

"Oh, I'm fine," Magdalene said stiffly. "She's going to get herself killed."

"Some people would say the same about you."

Magdalene rolled her eyes and turned on her heel. She began to walk away from the Potters' house. Sirius followed quickly behind her.

"I just mean that you're both stubborn, and despite what you say about running and hiding, you would also stand for a fight that you believed in. Why else would you go back to Palazzo del Te years ago? You went because you believed you were keeping us safe. You were sacrificing—"

"What is Lily sacrificing by staying here, waiting for Voldemort to kill her?"

"She is sacrificing her safety for her son's future."

"She is risking her safety—and that of her son's—in hopes that we will win this war. Sirius, I fear that it is almost over. I can feel it. Magic is failing. Witches and Wizards kill each other while the vampires wait in the shadows to take over. I fear that when the war against Voldemort is over, another one will start. One where magic fights the living-dead."

Sirius grabbed onto Magdalene's arm and pulled her around into his chest to stop her from walking away. The expression on his face was of serious concern and fear. She stared up into his midnight blue eyes with just as much worry.

"You truly believe this?"

"Yes," Magdalene nodded. "Since Octavia's death it is all that I can think about. She mentioned it as part of her plan; the reason she was so keen to find me because I am technically the head of the remnants of the Donovan clan. I can't help but think that Constantine killed her to not only press his own agenda, but to advance hers as well. There is a reason we haven't seen him for months. And I'm still certain he took something from my father's desk."

"But to rage a war against witches and wizards would require vampires to unite," Sirius said. "With Melanie looking to kill you, and Constantine's clan looking to kill him, how will they merge? Vampires are more broken up then witches and wizards are…at least we only have two sides in the fight."

Magdalene laughed lightly. It was true. "Yes, in the vampire war there are four sides. Constantine and I stand in our own corners alone, while the Octavius and Donovan clans over popular the other corners."

"You do not stand alone, Maggie," Sirius said with deep affection.

Magdalene frowned. "But, really I do, Sirius. Who's side will I be on? Your side? Fine, you and our friends would support me and trust me…but other witches and wizards? I would be in just as much danger as I am now. I certainly would not be on the vampire's side. I hate them with my being. I hate that I am one. I _would_ be alone. And a war for this country between magic and vampires, I fear, would be much more terrifying then the war that is raging right now against Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

"What could be more terrifying then people being black mailed, murdered and lied to every day? We live in an age where we don't know who to trust—"

"That's not true. You know who you can trust. With vampires, you never know if you can trust them."

"So, if they win the war and change us all then we'll still survive," he said quickly with sarcasm.

"Except they wouldn't change you. They would kill you or enslave you to be a food source, just like they enslaved Muggles."

Sirius released Magdalene's arm and stood up straight. "What?"

She blinked for a moment, then cringed. She had never told her friends what business her father had been involved in, that she had inherited it, or that she had passed it onto Demetrius.

"My father was the head of the slave business in England for most of my life," she whispered sadly. She was not proud of her family's business. "When he died, I inherited it and it has since been—"

Magdalene grabbed onto Sirius' arm with quick reflexes as a realization popped into her head. She stared out over his shoulder with wide eyes. A memory, from her childhood had suddenly flashed in her mind.

She was six, running through the winding halls of Palazzo del Te while Rebecca, one of the Muggle servants, counted to one-hundred as they played hide and seek. Magdalene ran down the long hallway and came to a stark halt outside the library. She paused to stare at the large oak doors before her. She wasn't allowed in the library, which would make it the perfect hiding place because Rebecca would never look for her in there. Magdalene jumped forward and pulled open the library door. Looking around the dark room quickly, she dashed for the desk and made to hide underneath it.

She had only been hiding for a few moments when the lights of the library turned on and someone could be heard entering the room. She frowned with apprehension that Rebecca was already going to find her. Her apprehension turned sharply to fear when she heard her father's commanding voice speak sharply.

"Blood, I need blood now," he hissed like a venomous snake.

"Of course, Marius," said a cool female voice.

Magdalene cringed and pulled her knees to her chest. Footsteps echoed against the wooden floorboards. There was a pause in the steps. Magdalene leaned forward and saw her father's booted feet standing inches away, next to desk. She heard the scrapping of metal and wood as a desk drawer opened and then shut.

Her father made to move towards the desk chair, something caused him to fumble and drop what he had been holding form the desk drawer. Magdalene bit her bottom lip in fear as a black leather bound notebook dropped in front of her. The book flopped open when it hit the ground and she saw scrolls of names scribbled in her father's writing on the page.

"What? What is it?" Sirius turned to look over his shoulder, then looked quickly back at Magdalene. There was nothing behind him. Magdalene stood up straight to look into Sirius' eyes. She didn't want to remember what happened after her father picked up his dropped notebook.

"The ledger," she said sharply. "My father kept a ledger about his business in the desk drawer."

"Okay…" Sirius looked perplexed.

"Constantine took something from the desk drawer the night he killed Octavia," Magdalene said quickly with some frustration because Sirius was putting the dots together. She slapped his chest quickly and clung to him. "Apparate us to his flat!"

"Do you really think it's best to go in there with out a plan?"

"Just go!"

Sirius rolled his eyes before wrapping Magdalene tightly in his arms and Disapparating with a loud crack. Magdalene locked her eyes closed so not to get sick as they traveled through space and roughly landed in front of Constantine's door. Magdalene exhaled sharply as her knees gave from the impact and fell closer into Sirius.

"Alright?" he asked.

"Fine," she said standing up straight. She pulled out of his arms and stepped forward towards the door. Without knocking, Magdalene kicked her foot forward and slammed her boot into the door of Constantine's penthouse. Because of her vampiric strength, the door launched off its hinges and flew back into the entrance of his home. Magdalene marched straight forward, stepping on the door as she paraded into the black and white penthouse.

Her senses were overwhelmed with the pungent smell of a rotting corpse. Her skin crawled with mild satisfaction at the thought that Constantine might be dead already, but the thought did not provide comfort. If he was dead, where was the ledger?

It was no surprise that they found the place trashed. The furniture destroyed, drawers and shelves disheveled, couch cushions ripped apart and every drawer and cabinet in the kitchen was left open. She frowned slightly as she moved through the kitchen and sitting room to the bedroom. She stopped straight in the doorframe and stared at the bed, where a pale female corpse lay.

"Who is she?" Sirius asked behind Magdalene. She looked over her shoulder at him, his hand was over his mouth and nose, muffling his voice. Magdalene didn't answer right away. She stepped forward into the room and took a closer look at the young woman's body sprawled on the bed. Her blonde hair was thrown across her face and stained with blood, but there was no mistaking her beautiful face and figure. It was Constantine's girlfriend.

It was difficult to say which was covered in more blood, the bed sheets or the poor girl's body. Magdalene frowned as she leaned forward over the corpse to look at the neck. The throat was ripped out. The bite marks of a vampire were unmistakable on her flesh.

"I don't know her name," Magdalene whispered. "But she was Constantine's girlfriend."

"Do you think he did this?"

"No," she replied. "He had no reason to…this is too violent for Constantine."

"How can you tell?"

"Constantine is a half-breed," she replied with a shake of the head. "He doesn't have fangs. His brothers probably did it to send a message, or they sent an enforcer."

Magdalene leaned forward to close the girl's eyes. They were still wide open staring straight out at the rest of the room in fear and pain.

"Maggie, let's get out of here," Sirius said quickly. He tugged on her elbow, pulling her away from the body. Without another word, he wrapped her in his arms and Disapparated from the room, leaving the body where they had found it.


	15. Another Problem

"How do we find Constantine?" Sirius asked from the couch as Magdalene paced back and forth in the living room of her flat. She stopped abruptly, her hair swished around her shoulders as she turned to look at Sirius straight on. He was slouching on the couch, with his right ankle resting on his left knee and his arms crossed over his chest.

"I can find him," she replied as her fingers touched her lips. "I'd have to concentrate on his blood…"

Sirius looked at her perplexed.

"Because I've taken his blood I can find him," she said awkwardly. "It's a blood law..." her voice trailed off as she turned away from Sirius to look out the flat window. She peered out at the London street below the window as she hoped that Sirius wouldn't press the issue.

"You've taken his blood?"

"I was in a pinch," she shrugged quickly. "I was close to death and needed blood."

It was a lie. Magdalene had taken Constantine's blood for the first time the day she had met him. He had followed her to Palazzo del Te when she was in a mood and offered his blood because her secret supply had been stolen. Magdalene bowed her head down and rubbed her forehead forcefully. She was beginning to get a headache.

"Alright," he said sorely. Magdalene straightened with mild surprise in her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder at him, wondering if he knew that she was lying, but he was moving on for the sake of their relationship.

Sirius stood up from the couch and approached her. He touched her arms gently and squeezed her biceps. His fingers traced up and over her shoulders, then he pushed her hair over her left shoulder, exposing her neck. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against the flesh on the back of her neck. She sighed with desire as his affection raised a temper of sexual hunger within. She frowned slightly as she stared out the window.

"Do what you have to," he whispered in her ear before pulling away. He could be heard walking out of the room, which suggested to Magdalene that he did know she was lying about taking Constantine's blood in a pinch. He was trying to make her feel like he didn't know the truth. He was lying to her to make sure they stayed strong…he was hoping to repair the bond. Magdalene bit her bottom lip and leaned forward against the chilled window pain. She could only imagine how the glass would freeze her skin, or how refreshing the coolness must have been to her hot cheeks. She breathed directly on the window, fogging the glass, and then drew swirls with her fingertips in the condensation before it evaporated.

Like a small child, she stared at the window and her finger drawings. But she was contemplating what needed to be done. She knew what she had to do, she just wasn't sure if she wanted to do it.

With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and thought of Constantine. His sexy, handsome face and muscular body; his broad shoulders and thick arms; his dancing forest-green eyes, that sometimes seemed to change to a dark shade of brown; and his sweet-tangy blood.

When she thought of his blood and remembered how it tasted on her tongue, her stomach jerked with vampiric hunger. She clenched the windowsill as her mind searched for Constantine and his sweet smelling blood.

For a moment, she thought it wasn't working; that somehow because of her weakened state she couldn't even find one of her blood sources. Of course, the thought was ridiculous; vampires could always find their food sources even if they were close to death. Just as the hopeless thought had crossed Magdalene's head, there was a sharp pull on her body. She opened her eyes, feeling dizzy suddenly; her vision was blurred. As she blinked her eyes to clear the blurriness, she began to see in black and white.

She was sitting in a comfortable armchair, staring out at a nearly empty room. She didn't move and barely breathed. For what felt like the longest time, she didn't move. Suddenly, she lifted her left hand and reached for the table on her left. In her blinded reach, she knocked over what it was she was grabbing for. A glass bottle fell and shattered on the wooden floor of the empty room she was sitting in. She stood up abruptly, in different to the broken glass, but angry that she had spilled the liquor.

Magdalene opened her eyes and fell backwards from the windowsill. She caught her balance quickly and stood up straight.

"Sirius!" she shouted.

He appeared around the corner from the hallway within a moment.

"I'll be right back," she said as she peered at him with silver eyes. He stood up straight, only in a pair of jeans, which made Magdalene's heart skip a beat. She was hungry and burning with eroticism. Seeing Sirius half-naked did not help the sexual charges that were raging in her system. She gave him a smile.

"Sure you don't want me to go with you?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," she said. "I'm just going to get the ledger back, then I'm going to come home and we're going to have sex."

Sirius smirked as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his tattooed chest. "Oh, really?"

"Yea," Magdalene nodded. She smiled at Sirius again before teleporting form the sitting room of her dingy flat.

The room she appeared in looked about the same as her flat—empty, old, dingy and unkept. She stood in the corner she had appeared in staring out at the room, taking in her surroundings. Across from her was the armchair from the vision she had that connected her to Constantine. The small crate, that was flipped on it's side to serve as a table, was standing next to the arm chair with spilled liquor and broken glass at its base. Magdalene knew she was in the right spot. But where was Constantine?

As if on cue, someone grabbed onto her from behind, wrapping an arm across her shoulders and the other around her waist. They lifted her up off the ground. Magdalene let out a cry of anger as she kicked her legs out in front of her. She threw her head back and knocked the head of her attacker. The person let out a grunt of pain and dropped her onto the floor. She landed like a cat on her feet and rolled quickly away from the corner of the room. She stood up straight as the smell of blood reached her nostrils. It was a familiar scent; one that she craved…

Magdalene stood up straight to face the corner as Constantine emerged from the shadow. He was holding his nose, which was bleeding profusely down his front.

"You broke my nose!" he shouted angrily.

"Well, why did you grab onto me?" she retorted shortly. He deserved much worse then a broken nose, she thought.

"I thought you were someone else…"

Constantine pushed forward pass her toward the crate-of-a-table he had set up in his hide out. He leaned over and picked up a cloth from inside the crate then collapsed into the armchair with it pressed to his nose. Magdalene frowned slightly as she studied him.

He was paler then normal, which was saying a lot for a vampire, even a half-breed. He was wearing a black long sleeve button-up and black slacks, his feet were bare. He looked thin and aged. Magdalene wondered if the stress he was under suddenly was doing his body ill.

"I am fine," he said sharply form his chair. He dropped the cloth away from his nose because it had stopped bleeding.

She stood up straight and marched towards him. Leaning over him, she viciously pinched his nose, which was obviously broken and not healed.

"Really?" she questioned.

Constantine winced and shoved her away. Magdalene stumbled back, but caught her balance a few paces away. She stood up straight, fixing her coat, and then crossed her arms over her chest.

"What do you want, Maggie?" he questioned. "I doubt you came out here because you were worried." He looked up at her. "You're too proud to have come out here for blood, even though you're starving."

"Tell me about the slave trade," she said as she glared at him. She dismissed his comment about her being hungry.

"Shouldn't you be the one telling me about it?" Constantine suggested. "Your father did run it for nearly one-hundred years."

"I'm sure you know more about it then I do," Magdalene took two steps forward. Constantine watched her as she approached. His eyes traveled from her head, down her body, and paused for a moment on her breasts before they kept lowering to admire her legs.

Magdalene glared at him with stone silver eyes, which did not frighten or intimidate him in the least. She was hungry, which wasn't helping her situation, and for a fearful moment she thought she was going to loose control. She was going to take Constantine's blood without his permission. Blood had dripped onto his shirt from his bloody nosey, and even though it had disappeared into the black fabric, Magdalene could smell it. The tangy-iron smell of his blood tickled her senses, making her crave it more. She bit her bottom lip and looked up at Constantine with longing; desire filled her eyes allowing him to read her like an open book.

"Come here," he whispered, motioning for her to come to his chair. He patted his thigh to invite her onto his lap.

"I didn't come here to feed," Magdalene hissed. "I see the big picture now, Constantine. I know why you've been in hiding for the last two months—"

"Well my brothers are after me," he sighed mildly. "Just like you, I'm hiding from my own clan."

"You're a lying bastard," she yelled. "You're more powerful then you let on! You plan to over-throw your brothers and become the leader of the clan."

"So?"

"Well, I'm not going to let you use me to accomplish that," Magdalene shouted as she motioned to herself. "And I'm certainly not going to let you use my father's business either!"

"Keep your voice down," Constantine said sternly. His forest-green eyes turned harsh and stern. He did not like her shouting at him. "The slave trade is dead. No one dare pick it up after you destroyed it. Anyone who did start it up again would be a fool because they know you'd come after them."

"I doubt that would stop anyone."

"Where is the ledger, Maggie?" Constantine asked. "No one could start the business up again without Marius' ledger. Where did you hide it?"

Magdalene was caught off guard by the question. She stood up straight and put her hands on her hips as she bit her bottom lip and studied Constantine closely. She was trying to read him to figure out if the question was a trick. Did he really want to know where the ledger was because he didn't have it? Or was he playing some kind of game?

"The ledger was not in the drawer where Ariana said it was always kept—"

"You did come with me that day to steal it!"

"No," Constantine shook his head once as he smirked. "I just know that it was kept in the top drawer of the desk."

Magdalene didn't want to believe him, because she didn't want to be wrong again. Dumbledore's voice rang in her memory. _Who is the fool? The man who trusts a man he knows he can trust, or the woman who trust a man she knows she cannot?_

"I don't know how to trust you," she said with a shake of her head.

"You don't have to," he shrugged.

"You know your girlfriend is dead," Magdalene said coldly.

Constantine frowned and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. His eyes darted to the broken bottle that had spilled onto the floor. Of course, he knew, Magdalene realized. She figured he had found the woman's body, just as she had. She had made the comment to hurt him; to change the topic of discussion away from her ability to trust him.

"I wish I had never met her. She was damned the moment we met…She's better off," he whispered sadly.

Magdalene frowned. His words struck an angry cord in her heart. How dare he say such a thing?

"You really think so?"

"It was quick," he responded. "They could have done worse…they could have enslaved her. She deserved better—"

"She _deserved_ to live."

"What would you have me do!?" he shouted at Magdalene as he jumped up from the chair. "I know it is my fault she is dead, Maggie! Why do you think I've been hiding, drinking myself into a stupor!?" He turned away from her with a burning rage in his eyes. He kicked the armchair with swift force and shot it across the room because of his vampiric strength. The chair collided into the wall with a loud crash that made Magdalene roll her eyes. "I didn't think they would go after her…"

"Do you know who did it?"

"Caesar no doubt," he replied, naming one of his brothers. Magdalene wasn't familiar enough with vampire history to know which of the Octavius brothers was the oldest and deadliest.

"Why wouldn't you think they would go after her? They want to hurt you. They're going to destroy anyone of importance, anyone you're connected with."

"I thought they would target you," he whispered. "They knew you were in the house that night. I thought they would think you were responsible—"

"I want to rip out your throat!" she raged as her body light on fire because of his words. "You selfish, ignorant bastard—"

"Stop it," he said sharply as he grabbed her arms. "You misunderstood me."

"What is there to misunderstand? You wanted them to come after me so they wouldn't come after you!"

"You're the ignorant bastard, Maggie," he yelled over her as he glared down at her silver eyes. For the first time, his eyes had turned silver, which stirred something deep within Magdalene. He finally looked like a true vampire to her. She didn't have anymore questions about what he was because now she could see it. Strangely, it made her trust him. "I was afraid for you! I feared they'd come after _you_, not my girlfriend."

Magdalene stepped back, pulling away from his arms. She looked at him bewildered and fearful. Constantine stood up straight and let her leave his personal space. He looked fearful as well. He had said too much and now neither of them knew what to say or do.

"I need to go," was all Magdalene said. Constantine nodded and turned away from her without a word. He stood in front of the armchair, his bare feet standing on the broken glass from the spilled and broken bottle of liquor. Magdalene wasn't sure if she should say anything else….she decided not to. She tucked her hair behind her ear and teleported from the dingy flat, wishing that what had just been said could be taken back. She was sure Constantine felt the same way.

"How did it go?" Sirius asked when she appeared in front of him in the living room of her flat. She turned to him, sharply, with silver eyes glaring as she tore off her jacket. He sat up straight with mild alarm. "Not well?"

"He's an ass," she hissed as she threw her jacket across the room. "He doesn't have the ledger."

"Where is it then?"

"I don't know, Sirius," Magdalene retorted. She looked directly at him, into his handsomely shaded blue eyes, and her anger subsided. She frowned because she was disappointed in herself for being angry towards Sirius. He had done nothing wrong. She went to him and straddled him where he sat on the couch.

Sirius smirked and raised his eyebrows with interest as she leaned down over him and kissed him delicately. Sirius' hands instantly fell on her hips, rubbing her flesh under her shirt and teasing her senses as he traced the waistline of her pants. She tilted her head back to allow him to kiss her jaw, then her neck. He sucked and bit at her, playfully turning her on and making her desire more of him.

Within moments they were both naked, their bodies pressed against each other, as they made love on the couch. Magdalene forget her troubles as Sirius buried himself into her. She didn't think of Constantine, the missing ledger of her father's slave-trade, the Octavius clan coming after her, or her own clan hunting her. She didn't even think about Lily and James concerns with Voldemort. She just thought of Sirius and his body loving hers.

Hours later Magdalene woke to the sound of someone's fist beating on her front door. She grumbled, perturbed that someone would have the audacity to knock on her door so early in the morning, and rolled over on the living room floor as she pulled the blanket over her head. Maybe, if she ignored the thumping the person at the door would leave. She was wrong. The knocking continued, until the door opened and Sirius greeted the knocker.

"Oh, hello Constantine," Sirius said sorely.

Magdalene sat up abruptly from her position on the floor next to the couch. She held a blanket over her body and began to stand as Constantine replied to Sirius.

"Hello, Sirius," he said just as sorely. "Is Magdalene around?"

"Why?" Sirius questioned.

"I'm here," Magdalene said quickly before the two could start arguing, or worse, fighting. Sirius looked at her with raised eyebrows as she came to stand next to him only wrapped in a blanket that had once been lying on the couch.

Constantine smirked at her, with all knowing dark eyes that took in every inch of her bare skin that was revealed. He looked healthier then when she had seen him the night before. Perhaps, he had finally had some blood. His skin was pinker, his eyes were not surrounded by dark shadows and he looked thicker. Magdalene frowned slightly at his charming appearance. He was dressed smartly in flattering jeans, a white button up and black waistcoat, with a black sports jacket on over it. "What do you want, Constantine?"

"We need to find that ledger," he said quickly. "It was gone the day we went to Palazzo del Te, which means that someone close to Ariana or Markus had to have taken it after Ariana's death."

"Why do you want to find it?" Magdalene questioned with puzzled and distrusting eyes.

"Because it's wrong," Constantine retorted with annoyance in his green-eyes. Magdalene could see that there was more to it though; there was always something more with Constantine. He had his own agenda and he couldn't be trusted. "Can I at least come in? This isn't really something we should be discussing in the open."

He looked over his shoulder and down the staircase to the entrance of the flat. Of course, there was no one there, but there was no reason not to be careful. Since Magdalene and Constantine were both wanted dead by the vampiric population, it was only a matter of time before someone showed up who wasn't invited.

"Fine," Magdalene said motioning for him to enter. "I'm going to get dressed."

She turned on her heel and walked away from the two men in the foyer of the flat. Her blood was boiling. How dare Constantine come to her door and insist on helping her find the ledger, as if she wasn't looking hastily enough for it? And how dare he come over after what he said the night before at his hiding place? Was he trying to make her life more complicated then it already was? Because he was succeeding.

When she returned to the sitting room, dressed in jeans and a tank top, she was surprised to see Constantine standing by the window looking out at the city street below. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. Sirius could be heard in the kitchen, moving around pots and pans. He was no doubt cooking breakfast. Magdalene moved towards Constantine quietly.

"Tell me what you really want?" she hissed at him like a snake. Constantine turned to her with surprise written on his face. He folded his arms behind his back and didn't answer her right away. Magdalene suspected he was debating between answering honestly or bluntly.

"If I said 'you,' you would probably kill me where I stand," he answered.

"I might kill you where you stand anyways," she retorted.

Constantine sighed and looked out the window again. "I simply want to stop whoever it is that is interested in starting the slave trade."

Magdalene grabbed his arm, pulled him to look at her. "Try again."

Constantine's forest green eyes flickered with a shade of grey as he peered down at Magdalene with loathing. Magdalene didn't budge. She held tightly to his arm as she glared straight back up at him. His vampiric stare didn't scare her. Nothing about Constantine scared her.

"My personal agenda works in your best interest as well, Maggie."

"You had better tell me what it is then!"

"Let's just focus on stopping the ledger from falling in the wrong hands—like Melanie's or my brothers'."

Magdalene rolled her eyes and moved away from Constantine with annoyance. "You must have a plan," she said sourly. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"I think we should go to Caesar—"

"—you want to go to your brother? Are you crazy?"

"I just want to talk to Caesar," Constantine said quickly, trying to calm Magdalene who had rage written all over her red face and tense body. "I want to find out what he knows. He is more understanding and will be willing to talk."

"How do you know that? Your brothers want you dead for killing Octavia! You put too much faith in your blood."

Constantine rolled his eyes. "Caesar is not to be feared, Charlemagne is."

"You said Caesar was probably the one who killed your girlfriend."

"Caesar is obedient. He does what he is told to. Charlemagne would have given the order. If I can speak to Caesar, perhaps I can learn who has the ledger."

"What if Charlemagne has given an order to kill you?" Magdalene whispered grimly as she looked at the floor.

"I will be fine. I can handle my brother," Constantine insisted.

"And if they have the ledger?"

"I will take it from them." Magdalene gave Constantine a distrusting look. He sighed. "You have to admit you would rather the ledger be in my hands then theirs!"

"I would rather it be destroyed. And that is exactly what I will do with it when we find it."

"You know," said Sirius from the doorframe of the kitchen. Magdalene and Constantine both looked up in surprise. Magdalene wondered how long he had been standing there listening. "Even with the ledger destroyed someone could start up the slave trade."

"Well, that is tomorrow's problem," Magdalene said. "Today we're worried about getting my ledger back."

"And repairing our bond," said Sirius softly. "I don't want you to die, but I don't want you to kill me either."

Magdalene frowned and nodded. "Of course."

Constantine moved uneasily behind Magdalene. She could feel his eyes on her which made her just uneasy. She could not feel his emotions with her empathic powers. She could only sense his discomfort.

"Sirius, I think you should stay here," she said as she looked up at him. He nodded, his mid-night blue eyes stared at her with dark understanding. He knew that this was something she had to do with Constantine, he just didn't like it. "I have to deal with this vampire problem with Constantine."

"I'm going to James and Lily's," he said as he stood up straight. "We have magical problems to deal with there."

"Alright," Magdalene nodded. "I'll see you later."

"Be safe," Sirius advised.

She pivoted on her heel and marched around the couch. At the door of the flat, she pulled on her coat. Constantine bowed his head at Sirius and followed Magdalene out of the door.

Magdalene heaved a heavy sigh once she was out on the London city street. She buttoned her leather coat as Constantine came up behind her. He was close to her when he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"How do you plan to fix your bond with Sirius?"

"I don't know," Magdalene hissed as she moved away from Constantine. "I'll worry about that tomorrow. Right now, I just need to help you so I can get you out of my hair and find my ledger."

"I can do this on my own. You should worry about your Covenant now," Constantine advised with a mild expression on his face as they began to walk down the street. "After all, it is making you weaker everyday. You couldn't even read my feelings a few minutes ago."

"What makes you think I wanted to read your feelings?" Magdalene questioned defensively. "You came to me, Constantine! Why would you do that if you didn't need my help?"

"It's not a matter of needing your help," Constantine replied as he followed Magdalene down the street, even though she didn't know where they should be going. "It was more out of respect—"

Magdalene stopped abruptly on the street and turned to Constantine, placing her hand on his chest to stop him in his path. He raised his eyebrows at her with curiosity as she glared up at him. She was studying him intently, trying to take in his feelings now, but of course, she could not. She was too weak.

"It wasn't respect," she whispered as she studied him. She recalled what he had stammered the night before, in his dismay he had been worried about her. It probably wasn't respect that had brought him to her door that morning, it was desire. He wanted to see her.

"What was it then?" he asked as she stroked her cheek. Magdalene grabbed his wrist to pull his hand away from her as her eyes burned vibrantly silver. She didn't appreciate him taunting her like that. They both knew that he wanted to see her and talk about what he had started to say in his hide-out the night before. He hadn't expected to find Magdalene with Sirius that morning; if she had been alone he would have talked about what he had said—that he was worried about her instead of his girlfriend; that he was falling in love with her…Magdalene didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to deal with the drama that would come form Constantine's love. She had enough problems as it was. The last thing she needed was to deal with Constantine's demon love for her. She released him and turned on her heel, marching away from him as quick as possible.

"Maggie," he called after her. She ignored him and kept pushing forward down the sidewalk. "Maggie!"

He caught her arm and pulled her around so she was looking up at him. He smiled down at her despite her heavy dirty glare up at him. "That's not the way we need to go."

Magdalene sighed with frustration and rolled her eyes. "Well," she said with some edge on her voice. "Where to then?"


	16. Caesar's Teasers

Magdalene stared at the glowing electric orange and pink sign that read 'Caesar's Teasers.' There was a neon outline of an over sexualized woman sitting just below the words, with a blinking outline of a leg kicking up and down. The building below the neon sign was completely black, with covered windows and peeling paint. Magdalene frowned as she turned to Constantine with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"You have to be kidding me," she said crossly.

"No," Constantine shook his head as he beamed at Magdalene. "Caesar owns four of the largest gentleman's clubs in the city."

"I'm not surprise that he owns strip clubs," she said. "I was hoping the name of the club was a joke."

Constantine laughed. "I'm afraid not. It's has a ring to it."

Magdalene stepped forward and pulled open the door of the strip club. Constantine thanked her with a bow of his head and made his way into the building with Magdalene close behind. They passed through a red velvet covered hallway into what looked like the foyer of a restaurant. There was a host's podium next to a red velvet rope that was blocking a staircase that descended into the strip club. The walls were painted black and the floor was red tile. There was no one at the podium, so Constantine stepped over the rope and began to descend the stairs. Magdalene followed suit quickly, only taking a moment to glance behind her.

On the stairs, Magdalene caught up to Constantine.

"Should I be prepared to fight for my life?" Magdalene questioned. She felt as though she was walking straight into the lion's den. Caesar Octavius was the middle of Octavia's sons. From what Magdalene had heard, he was the most amiable of the three brothers (though Constantine was the most charming and womanizing), but she recognized him as an enemy.

"You should always be prepared for that," was Constantine's response as they reached the bottom of the staircase. A black and red painted door was at the bottom of the stairs. Constantine opened it promptly, allowing loud techno music to erupt from the room behind the door, and marched into the main room of the club.

Magdalene looked around surprised to see the floor crowded with tables and chairs full of occupants. The room itself was dark, but there were bright stage lights pointed to the front of the room where three women were performing a choreographed strip tease. Magdalene stood stark still and stared as the women bent at the waist with their backs to the audience and legs parted as wide as their shoulders. She tilted her head to the side as they continued to dance around the poles on the stage.

"Maggie," Constantine whispered in her ear.

She jumped and turned to him with surprised eyes. He was beaming down at her with a cocky smirk that made her punch him in the shoulder.

"First time to a strip club?" he asked.

"No," she lied easily.

"Sure," he said, still smirking. "Come on." He took her hand and led her across the crowded room towards the bar lit with blue lights. There were only a few people around the bar. Magdalene realized quickly that they were probably all vampires. She felt almost human because her vampiric senses were so weak; she couldn't even sense the vampires around her.

"Kendrick!" Constantine hollered over the cacophony of music, catcalls and conversations. His hand remained tightly wrapped around Magdalene's, who was looking around to take in her surroundings. If she couldn't rely on her vampiric senses then she needed to use her mortal ones.

"Constantine!" said a surprised female voice. Magdalene turned to face the bar and saw a beautiful dark skinned woman standing across the bar from Constantine. She was wearing a black corset, matching panties and red fishnet stockings. "I'm surprised to see you."

Magdalene leaned against the bar, pulling her hand out of Constantine's and looked over her shoulder to study the crowd. She didn't want to appear inappropriate and stare at Kendrick because she was practically naked.

"I need to see him. Is he in?"

"Yes," Kendrick said slowly. "But Constantine, I was told you're not supposed to be here…" The woman seemed nervous that Constantine was in the club. "How did you get past Germaine?"

"He wasn't at the door," Constantine shrugged. "I'll go see him…don't worry, I won't say I spoke to you."

Kendrick leaned across the bar and touched Constantine's hand. "You had better know what you're doing. I'm sure Caesar wouldn't hesitate to kill your new girlfriend."

This caught Magdalene's attention and she turned her head to look at Kendrick. She looked the woman straight in the eye. From what she could tell, the pretty waitress was not a vampire, but she was relying mostly on instinct.

"I'm not his girlfriend," she shot across the bar.

Kendrick cocked her head to the side, causing her curly brown locks to fall back over her shoulder and reveal more of her breast. "Good, you'll live longer then." She pivoted and picked up some glasses off the back counter behind the bar. "See you around, Constantine."

A shining silver mark on Kendrick's wrist caught Magdalene's attention. Without hesitation, she stepped up onto the footrest of the bar and leaned over the counter. She grabbed Kendrick's wrist, pulling it towards her, and causing Kendrick to drop the glasses she had just picked up.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Kendrick yelled.

Magdalene slammed Kendrick's wrist down on the counter, so her palm was up and looked at the silver ink embedded in the woman's flesh. It looked like a tattoo, but shined like silver jewelry in the light. It was a series of swirls, dots and lines comparable to a Muggle 'barcode.'

"Where did you get this?" Magdalene asked sharply, pointing at the tattoo.

Kendrick didn't answer. She looked at Constantine, as if asking permission to speak. Constantine didn't say anything, though. Magdalene looked from Kendrick to him. He was staring at her, straight in the eye. His eyes had changed from green to silver in a matter of seconds, which made Magdalene believe what she already knew in her heart. The silver tattoo was a mark of ownership. Kendrick was a Muggle vampiric slave, sometimes referred to as a Feedling.

She sighed, released Kendrick's wrist and shook her head.

"Where is Caesar's office?" Magdalene questioned ruthlessly.

Kendrick didn't answer again. She looked at Constantine as she held her wrist in her hand, rubbing it because Magdalene had grabbed her so hard.

"Come on, Maggie," Constantine said taking her arm. Magdalene pulled her arm out of his grasp as they walked away from the bar.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill Caesar the moment I charge into his office?" Magdalene yelled over the music.

"He's not responsible for Kendrick's status—"

"_Status!?_ What the hell does that mean?"

"Kendrick is a Feedling, as I'm sure you've figured out already," said Constantine as they weaved through the sea of tables and made their way across the club. "She is not a slave. She is a member of my clan as much as I am."

"She is a food source—"

"A willing food source," Constantine said. "She stays with my brother willingly."

"Did she come willingly?"

Constantine didn't look at Magdalene or answer the question.

"Exactly," Magdalene shouted. "She was forced into this life. She won't leave because she is afraid to. She knows the terrors of the world and she thinks it's better to be aligned with the enemy then against them—"

"—some would say she's right—"

"—she deserves her life back, Constantine. A Feedling is a slave, by calling them that you just glamorize their suffering and exploitation," Magdalene argued.

"Well, you can't kill Caesar because he is our only means of getting to Charlemagne. If you kill my brother, I guarantee it will take us months, if not years, to find the ledger and stop my brother from starting a true slave trade that does not disguise it's exploitation with glamorized names."

They had walked down a narrow hallway that led to the back of the club. They passed the restrooms, call room, and 'special services' room, which Magdalene had to assume was for very special clients who needed extra special services. At the end of the hall was a red door, which Constantine opened without knocking. Magdalene followed him and quickly turned around, shocked by what she saw.

"Constantine!" shouted a shocked male voice. "Have you ever heard of knocking, you dirty bastard!?"

Magdalene had to assume that the man shouting was Caesar, Constantine's older brother. There were squeals of horror from at least two women (that Magdalene had seen) and then the shuffling of furniture and feet.

"Sorry, Caesar," Constantine said with a laugh. "Ladies, I do beg your pardon. I was told I could come right in."

"Sorry, girls," Caesar said with a harsh tone that was not apologetic at all. "Get out, get out."

As Magdalene stood with her back turned, three women moved past her to leave the room. They were completely naked, carrying their clothing (which was hardly clothing at all, mostly lingerie and spiked heels) in their arms and giggling as they passed Magdalene. She was biting her lip when she turned around to face Caesar, who to her dismay, had not covered up yet. He was standing shamelessly behind his desk, which was not tall enough to cover him with dignity.

"Caesar put some damn clothes on," Constantine insisted as he glanced at Magdalene. "You don't want my dear Maggie to kill you while you're naked, do you?"

Caesar was an attractive looking man. He was nowhere near as sexy and attractive as Constantine was, but he certainly had some handsome features. He was a thin man, with broad shoulders and boney frame. He didn't have any obvious muscles; he looked as if he was made of just skin and bones. He was pale with light brown hair on his head and goatee. His eyes were the same green as Constantine's, but when they fell on Magdalene, they turned to stark shining silver.

"You're not going to say 'hello'?" Magdalene said as she folded her hands behind her back. She looked up at Constantine. "He's not very polite."

"Get her out of here, Constantine," Caesar said as he bent over behind his desk and pulled on his pants. "Charlemagne told me to kill you if I ever see you again. You're lucky I haven't done that yet. Get out, before I kill you both."

"You said he was obedient," Magdalene said with some cheek. "Obviously, not a very good listener since he hasn't killed you yet."

"Maggie, tone back the bullshit," Constantine advised.

"Look, Magdalene, I know exactly who you are and you're lucky I haven't put a stake through your heart yet either, you murdering bitch," Caesar said ruthlessly to Magdalene.

"You're the one who is lucky, Caesar," Magdalene shot back with a hot glare at the vampire.

"Shut the hell up, both of you," Constantine said as he moved forward. "Look, Caesar, we'll get the hell out as soon as you tell us what we need to know."

"You're crazy," Caesar said as he looked at his younger brother. "I'm not telling you anything. I can't tell you anything."

"I told him that," Magdalene mumbled.

"I shouldn't have brought you," Constantine hissed at her. "Caesar, all I need to know is if Charlemagne has Marius Markus' ledger?"

Caesar didn't say anything. He sat down in the large red armchair behind his desk and rubbed his fingers over his goatee. Magdalene stood her ground, staring at him and debating the best way to kill him if he made an advance on her and Constantine. She glanced at Constantine, who was still moving forward closer to the desk, and wondered if she should even worry about him. If the conversation turned south and all hell broke loose, should she fight for her own life and leave Constantine to fend for himself?

Yes, she thought. That's what he'd do.

"Why'd you kill mother, Constantine?"

"That's not important right now—"

"IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME!" Caesar shouted as he leaned forward in his chair and slammed his hand down on the desktop. Magdalene made a wooden stake appear in her hand behind her back. She wasn't going to mess around…she wanted to be prepared…

"I didn't agree with her agenda," Constantine spoke slowly. "I didn't want to see an all out war between vampires and magic."

Caesar shook his head with disappointment. He obviously was very hurt by Constantine's betrayal and his mother's death. "It wasn't your place to question her."

"I didn't question her," Constantine laughed lightly. "I killed her. She would have done the same to any one of us."

"She had more faith in you then the rest of us—"

"We both know that Charlemagne was the favorite, Caesar. Let's not lie to each other anymore."

Caesar's silver eyes flashed at Magdalene, who had remained where she stood, between the desk and door of the office. She tried to sense him with her empathic abilities but could feel nothing. With dread, she bit her bottom lip. Did he know she was holding a stake behind her back?

"If we're not going to lie anymore," Caesar spoke slowly. "Why did you bring the Markus bitch here with you?"

"I really wish you would stop calling her a bitch," Constantine said. "She may be a pain in the ass, but she will kill you if you keep it up, Caesar. She didn't do anything to you to deserve being called a bitch."

"She's a Donovan," Caesar said with disgust, as if that were enough to warrant the insulting name-calling.

"Caesar," Magdalene spoke softly. "Do you tattoo all of your employees?"

Caesar glared in her direction with discontent as if she wasn't supposed to address, let alone speak, to him.

"Just the ones I own," he said proudly.

"Dammit," Constantine sighed under his breath.

Caesar's response was enough for Magdalene. She was ready to put a stake right through his heart, she didn't care if he told Constantine if Charlemagne had the ledger or not. She would find it on her own. Caesar deserved to die and if Magdalene killed him, she inherited his Feedlings and other blood bonds.

Without hesitation, Magdalene stepped forward and threw the stake straight at Caesar's heart with a swift flick of her wrist. She wasn't surprised that he anticipated the move; he stood up out of his chair and snatched the flying stake out of the air. His body turned, flowing with the force of the stake. As he rotated, Magdalene conjured another stake and threw it straight at him. Because he was still turning, he didn't see it coming. The second stake collided with Caesar's chest as his turn completed and he faced Magdalene and Constantine. His eyes widened in surprise and his mouth opened as if to call for help or to scream. Caesar's body burst into flames as he fell to the ground; his body turned to ash before he hit the hard wood floor.

Magdalene stood up straight and cringed. "Sorry," she whispered as Constantine moved forward to the desk. "He just got under my skin."

"Do you feel better now?" Constantine asked as he opened the drawers of the desk, ignoring the pile of ash that was once his brother.

"A little," Magdalene said. "Blood laws give me rights to his blood bonds and Feedlings."

Constantine picked up something out the drawer and came back around the desk. "Here, you'll want this then," he said tossing something to Magdalene. She opened her hands and caught a red bound notebook. "Marius' ledger?"

"No," Constantine laughed as he opened the office door. "That's Caesar's ledger. It has record of his 'employees.' Come on, Maggie, we've got to get out of here."

Magdalene followed Constantine hastily out of the office. She tucked the red notebook in the pocket in the lining of her leather jacket. Constantine stopped abruptly, causing Magdalene to run into him.

"What the hell?"

He turned to her and pressed her back against the wall of the hallway. Magdalene looked up in apprehension as he bent his head down to kiss her full on the mouth. Constantine didn't hold anything back. His lips engulfed hers, filling her with desire and heated passion all at once. One of his hands remained on her waist while the other moved to the side of her head and tangled in her loose curly brown hair. He playfully pulled on her hair as he moved his lips to her jawbone and then down her neck. Magdalene sighed with pleasure as she opened her eyes to see two large, heavy looking vampires move by them in the hall. They made their way into Caesar's office. Once the red door shut behind them, Magdalene shoved Constantine off her body.

"That was a cheap move," she said sorely.

"You liked it," Constantine smirked and pinched her cheek. She slapped his hand away, but he grabbed it with a tight squeeze. "Let's get out of here."

Just as the words left Constantine's lips, the office door opened and one of the balky vampires shouted loudly at them. "Constantine!"

"Just teleport!" Magdalene shouted as Constantine pulled her forward and they broke into a run. She looked back over her shoulder to see both of the vampires running after them in pursuit.

"We can't do that together!"

Magdalene growled in aggravation and pulled her hand free from Constantine. She turned back, just as they were reaching the end of the hallway, and ran back at the two vampires. When she was only about ten feet away from them, she skidded to the left onto her side and slid between the vampire's legs. She grabbed his ankles as she slid underneath him and pulled him straight to the ground with a thundering crash. As he whipped out, he threw his arms out to catch his balance. His dismay caused him to slap the other vampire, who also fell to the ground. Magdalene stood up, kicked one of the vampires in the face, breaking his nose, and then proceeded to grab the other vampire's head with one hand on his chin and the other on the back of his neck. She forcefully turned her hands in opposite directions, breaking his neck. His body fell to the ground below her, lifeless. With a snap of her fingers, a stake appeared in her hand. She slammed it into the vampire's chest from behind and yanked it out just as forcefully.

As the vampire's body burst into flames and disintegrated into dusty ash, she advanced on the second vampire whose nose she had broken. Blood was pouring down his face as he tried to stand up to fend off Magdalene. She let him stand while taking in his position and build. She was trying to find the easiest spot to strike before stabbing him with the stake. He looked straight at her and screamed loudly with frustration. As he ran at her, about to body check her into the wall behind her, she dodged to the side allowing him to run straight into the wall on his own. His body fell back like a heavy rock. She shoved the stake straight into his back as he fell to the floor and pulled it out. As his body burst into flames she dropped the stake to the floor.

She stood up straight and flipped her hair dramatically out of her face. Constantine grabbed her hand.

"Good job," he said with sarcasm as they dashed out of the hall onto the main floor of the club. "Now the whole club knows we did it!"

Magdalene looked around her to see the entire population within the club standing up, looking around towards the hallway to see what the commotion was. As Constantine and Magdalene made their way through the crowd, witness' eyes followed them—so did the silver eyes of Caesar's bodyguards.

"Aren't the bodyguards his Feedlings?"

"No!" Constantine yelled in anger. "They're vampire employees."

"Son of a bitch," Magdalene yelled as she looked over her shoulder to see five bodyguards chasing them up the stairs out of the club. "Go to the place I first took your blood!"

She stopped in the middle of the steps and teleported without another word. The last thing she saw before her body vanished from Caesar's Teasers strip club was the huge body of a pale-skinned vampire hurling towards her. No doubt, the bodyguard fell painfully on the stairs because she vanished before he could tackle her.

Magdalene gasped a breath of relief as her body fell onto the cold floor of the kitchen in Palazzo Del Te. She rolled over onto her back and laid flat on the floor while trying to regain her composure. Everything that had just happened was sinking into her system; the consequences of her actions were taking hold. Suddenly, she wasn't sure if she had done the right thing by killing Caesar Octavius.

The heavy sound of feet hitting the floor near by caused Magdalene to sit up onto her elbows. She wasn't surprised when she saw Constantine emerge from the dark shadows of the kitchen. He fixed his shirt as he walked forward and turned a nasty green eye glare on her. She smiled up at him.

"Nice of you to join me," she said before lying back on the cold tile.

"What the hell was that? Were you trying to prove something, or just get me killed?"

"You're still alive from what I can tell."

"We didn't get what we went for, Maggie."

"How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me that!?"

"You let Sirius call you that."

"I also let him screw me," Magdalene said. "Do you see a correlation?"

Constantine laughed as he stood over her. "Come on, I should get you back to dear Sirius. You'll need his blood soon."

Magdalene sat up too quickly, causing her head to spin. She held her head gently and took a deep breath. "Or maybe you need some now?"

"No," Magdalene said instantly. "I'm fine."

Constantine took a seat on the floor next to her. She stared blankly at the floor as he pulled the switchblade from his boot. When he slit a small cut on his wrist, she immediately looked to him. The intoxicating smell of his blood reached her nostrils instantly, initiating her animalistic desire to feed. He extended his wrist to her. Magdalene tore her eyes away from the blood that was rolling down his flesh to look up at him.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm offering, aren't I?"

Magdalene didn't need telling twice. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to Constantine's wrist. Blood coated her lips and tongue as she sucked gently on his self-inflicted wound. He brushed her hair with his fingers as he waited patiently for her to drink her fill. Magdalene pulled her mouth away within a few moments so not to take too much. As she met Constantine's eyes, her eyes faded from silver to green. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Thank you."

"No need," he shrugged as he rested his split wrist on his lap. He closed his switchblade and slipped it back into place in his boot. "Well, how do you propose we find out if Charlemagne has your ledger now? We can't just go marching into his house and kill him, like you did Caesar."

"No?" Magdalene said with a smile. Her eyes drifted to stare at Constantine's wrist.

"Are you sure you don't want more?"

"Yes," she said quickly as she redirected her green eyes to his. "I just wanted to make sure it was healing."

"It is," he looked down at his wrist. "See?"

Sure enough, Constantine's wrist had healed completely. Magdalene smiled weakly before turning away and getting up off the floor.

"I'm sorry I acted rashly," she whispered as she began to pace the tile floor. Constantine remained on the ground, watching her as she moved back and forth. He loved the way she moved; the way her hips swished, her hair flowed and body tensed. She stopped abruptly to stare at him, causing him to blink and lift his eyebrows at her.

"You did what your instincts told you to," he shrugged. "I'll work on getting the ledger. You should worry about your Covenant bond."

"What makes you say that?"

"You couldn't tell if Kendrick was a vampire or mortal," Constantine said seriously. "It's been months and you're still getting weaker. You need to fix the bond, or you need to kill Sirius."

"I'm not going to kill Sirius," Magdalene snapped with distain. "You say it so simply, like it's easy."

"You just killed three vampires, one of which was my brother," Constantine retorted. "Killing seems to be pretty easy for you."

"They were attacking me. It was self defense."

"You threw the first stake," Constantine said crossly. Magdalene stepped forward with her hands on her hips and a surprised expression.

"You're mad that I killed him."

"He was my brother!"

"You were going to have to kill him if I didn't, Constantine. I'm not a fool, so don't try to play this like I'm the bad guy who killed your dearest brother. If you want to take control of the Octavius clan then you'd have to get your hands dirty and kill your own brothers."

Constantine heaved a sigh. "I know that," he said glaring at Magdalene. "But I wanted to do it according to my plan." He stood up from the ground. "You just go in, no plan, ready to attack! Everything you do is blind. You get so damn lucky, you don't realize how lucky you are! It's like you have luck tattooed to your ass! It's there, but you can't see it!"

Magdalene stood calmly, waiting for Constantine to finish his rant. She crossed her arms over his chest when silence fell in the kitchen. "Are you done?"

"Yes," he snapped back.

"Good," she said. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go fix my Covenant bond. Let me know when you need me to kill your other brother."

Magdalene teleported as soon as the word 'brother' left her lips. She didn't understand what was causing Constantine's panties to twist into a knot. Sure, they hadn't found out if Charlemagne had the ledger, but it wasn't rocket science at that point. There were only two people who could have it: Charlemagne or Melanie.

When Magdalene appeared in her flat, she realized that it didn't matter who had the ledger, she was going to have to kill Charlemagne and Melanie just to survive. Since she killed Caesar, Charlemagne did have a reason to come after her.

In the bedroom, Magdalene hid the red notebook Constantine had given her from Caesar's desk between her mattress and the floorboards. She pealed off her clothes carefully and crawled into the bed as her mind continued to race. Perhaps, after all that had happened in the last couple of days, Lily Potter was right. Magdalene probably needed to go into hiding again because now the most dangerous vampire of all time was going to be hunting her. After aiding in his mother's death and personally killing his brother, Charlemagne was sure to come after her himself.


End file.
